hackUBIQUITY
by Caine Porter
Summary: UBIQUITY is a story straying away from R:2. I have decided that I prefer the original version of The World much better than its new, milked, pathetic excuse for a series. Please enjoy and review!
1. Chapter 1

First of all, allow me to thank you for coming to see my vision of The World. It is an honor to be writing this story, as the .hack series was one my favorites. Now, to all of those who know of and are obsessed with version R:1, you may like this. If you're one of those people who fell in love with R:2, you may want to back out now, as I have taken a separate direction from that canon. The story begins in the year of Mia's demise, 2015, right before CC corp. is about to create R:2. I am not going to be putting in R:2, as I did not like it. That is one of the reasons I quit the _Project .hack_ department in CyberConnect 2 Co. I am now in the _Naruto_ department, helping to make those silly games.

I will be writing from the first-person POV, or "point-of-view" for most of the story. However, I like going into the omnipotent role and trailing off to other scenes and writing in other POV. It may get confusing, but you'll just have to keep up.

The story is about a young man named Shiro Nayamura, who plays as a Wavemaster of the Earth Wave called Navel. He has many friends in The World, some you will meet that you may know from the series, Gardenia being the most frequent in the beginning. There is trouble once more in The World, and Navel will soon find that wishing to be a part of something so big like the Twilight Incident is foolish, and that you should be careful of what you wish for.

Also, please forgive me if some things in this story are written poorly. This is the first draft and I did not go back and edit yet. It will be better, I promise you, in weeks to come…hopefully. That is, if I edit it. I'm not one to edit while I write. But I assure you that I am a much better author than this makes me look. Egh…Whatever.

Again, thank you all kindly and please, enjoy the story. For questions, comments and concerns, please do not hesitate to message me. You can also reach me better through email at: .

**Chapter I: Player Killer**

**: Raging, Law's, Great Seal**

I sat quietly, surveying my surroundings. I ducked out behind a large, twisted rock formation, hiding from my opponent. It was a mammoth crab-like beast with a skeleton's head. At my current level, I was no match for the monster, so I had to run. I noticed that the blinking red [Danger!!!] icon above my screen slowly began to die down, and peered around the rock to see if the crab was leaving.

I stepped up the moment I was sure I was out of range of any attack and quickly gated out. When I arrived back in the Aerial City, Fort Ouph, on the Sigma server, I turned back to the Chaos Gate, a golden ring that spun around on an axis. I opened up the gate window and selected the Delta Server root town, Mac Anu, and made my way there.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

I arrived to an eruption of chatter. People were running here and there, from shop to shop, circle to circle, buying and feeding off the gossip that was available. I sheathed my character's staff and headed into the town, unarmed. Crossing the bridge over the canal, I ran to the gathering place in the alleyways around the backside of town, behind the Apothecary, where my friends and I met up. I came to a halt and stood by quietly, so as to not disturb their heated conversation.

"That's also what I heard," said Lawk, a Wavemaster like me and also my best friend. Unlike my green and brown robes, he wore white and blue. His eyes were gold, and mine were blue. We shared the same immaculate blonde hair, but that was the extent of our similarities. "But I wouldn't go on just a rumor, seeing as it's just a rumor."

A Pole Arm removed herself from the ground and took to leaning against the side of a building. "Very true, Lawk, but I am one of those people who like to investigate. You know that. If it is something unknown, you can bet I'll be there. But I digress, you're right. I really do not want to go alone on this one. It sounded dangerous."

Lawk stared at the woman, and he smiled. "Maybe Navel will go with you, when he comes back?" I cleared my throat at the sound of my name, and he cocked his head in my direction. "Navel! Hey!" His avatar leapt from the ground and nearly trampled mine. "Welcome back! How was the event?"

"Not good. It took me all of my healing potions. When I returned from the dungeon, I was attacked by another monster, and my health was way below the green bar. I hid for a bit and then made an escape."

The woman perked up, and tilted her head. "So, does that mean you won?" I nodded. "What did you get as a prize? Anything good?"

I pulled out from my inventory a magnificently-crafted, jewel-encrusted broadsword and showed it to them. I peered at Lawk and Gardenia, grinning. "Extremely rare, but useless to a Wavemaster."

Gardenia smirked, and waved her hand nonchalantly. "To a Pole Arm, too." Lawk grabbed the blade and started polishing it, examining it enthusiastically. "I'll bet you can get a lot for this from some Heavy Blade, Navel. Oh! Maybe Niva'd like it?" I shook my head.

"Niva can not have this sword. He's a Blademaster, not Heavy Blade. And besides, he doesn't have nearly enough GP to pay for something this valuable. No, I think I'll sell it at the Weapon shop."

And so we sat there for a while, just talking about anything that came to mind. After some time Lawk took his leave because he had to log off. Gardenia left afterward, as she had to meet someone offline, and it was important. So I stayed there for a little while, taking a closer look at the sword I had won. It was a beautiful blade, crafted completely in gold and silver.

I waited in line at the Weapon shop until it was my turn. When I showed the merchant my item, he scratched his head in confusion.

"This thing is extremely powerful!" he exclaimed leaning forward. I noticed that the merchant was another player and not an NPC, or non-player character, and sighed. I wouldn't have had to speak to them if they were NPCs. "How much do you want for it?" asked the merchant, very eager to possess the sword. "I'll pay whatever you wish."

I reviewed the stats for it and looked at the sell price. "Eight thousand, five hundred GP." The merchant gawked. "That's what it says I sell it for."

"Only when selling to an NPC. That's an outrageous price! Can't you knock it down a bit?" I shook my head, removing the sword from the counter and put it away. "C'mon! Can't we bargain, or something?"

"I'm just going to come back when there's an NPC available." With that I walked away, rolling my eyes. I stopped at the Apothecary and bought a few resurrection and healing potions to replenish my supplies. When I had finished, I slid off my FMD—Face-Mount Display—to see what time it was. Outside it was growing dark. I had plenty of time left. I returned and headed for the Chaos Gate. I entered the coordinates of a field on the  server, and gated over.

**: Cursed, Pagan, Melody**

The field was a barren wasteland of fire, shrouded in billowing smoke. The only glimmer of light was at a Spring of Mist nearby. I ran over and gazed into the pond. The glistening blue water held a magical aura about it, and I grinned. Opening my inventory, I removed a pair of gloves I had found in a dungeon and tossed them in. In an instant the water began bubbling, and soon I was face-to-face with a large tear-drop creature. It began wriggling in the air like magic jell-o.

"Hey, did anyone drop this Golden Axe?" the creature's voice made me believe someone had struck it with a bat. "Or was it this _Silver_ Axe?" I entered the [Neither] command and waited for my prize. "Oh! Neither, you say? Are you sure? Well, then. Here, take this!" And the beast was gone, just like that. A window popped up indicating that my gloves had been transfigured into magic ones. I equipped them and ran off, heading to the dungeon.

The cavern was devoid of smoke, and that made me happy. I could now see what was in front of me. I rummaged through each individual room the chamber had, from floor to floor, until I reached the lowest level. I passed through the entryway into the Gott Statue room and tapped the treasure chest with my staff. It opened to reveal Fire Armor. I took it and compared it to the armor I had equipped. The Fire Armor was phenomenally superior. I outfitted myself properly and turned to leave. I liked to trek back the way I came, instead of using the Sprite Ocarina, which would teleport you to the entrance. I rarely used this, unless I absolutely had to, or was too lazy to walk.

When I passed through the door, however, I was met by three unsuspecting intruders. One of them was the merchant I spoke to earlier; the other two I did not recognize. I waved and tried to pass them, but they blocked my way with swords. I backed up and held my staff protectively before me.

"Stand aside," I called. The merchant grinned and lifted his sword to face me. "I am not your enemy," I tried, hoping that they would move.

"Give me the sword," said the merchant. His cronies readied their blades too and prepared to attack. "If you do not give me the sword, I'm going to have to take it by _force_." He inched closer, while I inched back.

"You'd kill me even if I _did_ give it to you. I know your kind." I stepped around the treasure chest, still in a defensive position. "Besides, I sold it already," I lied.

"No you didn't. We followed you directly from the Weapon shop. You had no time to get rid of it."

"Fine. I have it, but you're not getting it. I told you, eight thousand five hundred GP and it's yours. But since you're unwilling to pay, and you've threatened me, I shall not sell it to you. You are unworthy."

The two Blademasters circled around my position, flanking me. "You'd do well to just give up the item, you know. That way you'd be able to keep that experience you earned. You save your game recently?" I hadn't. I had forgotten to do so before coming down here.

Thinking quickly, I turned on the Blademaster to my left, cried out "GiGan Don!" and watched as a pillar of earth and vines set about attacking him. The man on my right came in and swung hard, hitting home. My hit points dropped down a quarter. He was quite weak, I noticed. The one I had attacked before, however, was blinking red. _Nearly dead, eh?_

"Damn! I need a healing potion, quick!"

"Heal yourself," the merchant chided. "I'm not wasting my items on you."

I cast another spell in the Blademaster's direction and he toppled to the ground, a gray shadow, and disappeared. "I would leave now, if I were you," I warned. I turned to the second Blademaster and grinned. "Before you suffer the fate of your compatriot." He ignored me, naturally, as all PK—Player Killers—did. He dodged one of my spells and brought his sword down on my shoulder, knocking off another quarter of my hit points. "Yarthkins Pha!" I cried, summoning the beast of Earth. It clawed and raged against my foe, destroying him completely.

I was left with two down, and one to go. The merchant pulled out and enormous sword; a Heavy Blade. He crowed at me and raised his weapon. I shielded myself with the staff, but fell to the ground. I was impaled and had more than half of my hit points taken from me. I quickly drank up a healing potion and jumped back to my feet and cast another spell. The merchant ignored the damage done and continued attacking me with a flurry of blows.

This continued for a very long time. Both of us had used the last of our healing potions by the end of battle, and I was losing. He grinned one last time and brought his sword down fast. I closed my eyes, a reflexive move on my part. I waited for the final blow, but it never happened. I heard the splattering noise of being impaled, but it was not my avatar. I opened my eyes and could not believe what I saw.

A large creature the shape of a dumbbell appeared out of a rippling void in the air. It had gel-like features and a golden ring in the central bar, surrounded by a smaller bubble. A tendril stuck out from one of the monster's bulbs, and had the merchant in its grip. His eyes were wide, and I could hear heavy breathing from his speakers.

"Is that…a dumbbell?"

I staggered backwards on the ground and rested behind the chest. The merchant was raised in the air with the dumbbells' tendril, and I could see light glowing now from the ring. An instant later the flash of light raced down its length and enveloped the merchant. He began to glow and I could see numbers and symbols circling him. He let out a wretched cry of horror and I winced. When the monster released him, he fell hard to the ground and faded away.

I stood up and tried to run away, but the beast turned on me. More tendrils shot out from its body, and wrapped around my avatar. I was entangled. It held on to me for a few moments, as if studying me, and then let go. It made an echoing roar and disappeared into a rift.

I shuddered, and pulled out a Sprite Ocarina and played it. I was returned to the dungeon's entrance instantly. I gated back over to Mac Anu and saved my game.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

_What was that?_ I thought. _I have never seen a being like this before._ Then it struck me. I recalled hearing of a beast very similar to this one some years ago, before the Twilight Incident. A Wavemaster had been causing trouble in The World while toting around a dumbbell monster.

_I wonder if that Wavemaster has returned to The World. Did he save me?_ I replenished my healing items once more, this time to the maximum, and sent a message to Lawk and Gardenia:

_**Subject: Hey**_

_**So I was venturing in this dungeon, right? Well when I was done, I was attacked by some player killers. I got rid of two of them, but then something strange happened. This weird monster came out of nowhere and killed the last of them. It looked like a dumbbell! Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow.**_

_**-Navel-**_

After I looked it over, I sent the message and logged out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II: Fugitive**

I woke up to the sound of shouting. I threw off my covers and climbed out of bed, pacing over to my door. When I opened it I was ambushed by my sister, who was an eccentric by nature, and cared little about how others thought of her. She came into my room without invitation, despite my partial nudity. I grabbed a shirt off of a basket nearby and slipped it on.

"Kaguya," I said, looking for a pair of sweat pants to put on over my boxers. "What are you doing in here? What do you want?" I tied the strings to hold up my pants and turned. She stared at me in disbelief.

"What," she began. "You haven't read the BBS yet?" The 'BBS' that she referred to was The World's very own Bulletin Boards, where people posted rumors, queries, applications, and anything else they could come up with. "I had believed you to be an avid reader of those, Shiro." She smiled and booted up my computer, and sat on the side of my bed.

"BBS?" I said, taking a seat before my terminal. When the computer was ready, I logged into The World and scrolled over to the bulletin boards.

"Scroll down here," said Kaguya, pointing at the post with the subject titled: [Comatose] "It's really weird, Shiro. Someone's fallen under while playing again. This hasn't happened in quite a while. I wonder if it's another bug."

I clicked on the post and read from it, to see what the fuss was about.

_**Subject: Comatose**_

_**Someone was rushed to the hospital last night! They say that the player was knocked unconscious or something and has not woken up. ~Redman~**_

_**Subject: Re: Comatose**_

_**It was a player known as Shota, the Heavy Blade. A friend and I were with him last night, scouring a dungeon. We found a Wavemaster at the Divine Statue room and he attacked us. He PKed my friend and me, and we haven't seen Shota since. I think that Wavemaster had something to do with all this! ~Swiftblade~**_

_**Subject: Re: Comatose**_

_**Did anybody get the Wavemaster's name? ~Rhiannon~**_

_**Subject: Re: Comatose**_

_**I did. The Wavemaster was known as [Navel]. Someone please catch him. Who knows who else will be next! ~Swiftblade~**_

I exited from the BBS and turned to my sister. "You're in trouble here, Shiro. What did you do to that guy, exactly?" said Kaguya, her expression grave.

I shook my head, and stood up. "I'm not…I'm not sure. I do, however, know that whatever happened, he deserved it. He and his two henchmen attacked me, trying to kill me. I defeated two of them, but that Shota guy was too powerful. And then," I walked over to the window, taking in the fresh sunlight, as if I were a tree. "There was a dumbbell. I think I was saved by that guy from a couple years ago. What was his name?"

"The Wavemaster? The one with this 'Guardian', you mean? You think he's returned to The World after so long?"

"It wouldn't be the first time. Gardenia came back, remember? What was the Wavemaster's name?"

"I suppose you're right," Kaguya stood up and walked back to the door. "His name was Tsukasa. I'd look into this if I were you. If you get in enough trouble, I'm sure the cops will eventually be brought in. Investigate this, Shiro. I'll do what I can, but your story doesn't check out just now." She left quietly, and I sat back down to think for a while.

I took my FMD off the desk and slipped it on. I Logged back in and jumped from Shiro Nayamura into the body of my avatar.

 **Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

The town square at the back of town was especially crowded today. There was plenty of talk going around about the incident seen on the BBS and people wanted answers. At the center of the crowd, standing proud on the central dais was a woman with jet black hair, addressing the crowd. She wore emerald plate mail and a dark blue robe beneath. She carried a halberd with her to symbolize martial power.

She raised her weapon and slammed it on the platform hard, emitting a loud thunder crack. The crowd fell silent. She stepped forward, and spoke in a loud, commanding voice.

"As a representative of CC corp., I am here today to tell you all, in person, so-to-speak, that everything is fine. I have positioned a squadron of Emerald Knights in each root town, to ensure the capture of the player known as Navel. CC corp. wishes to maintain the peace in The World and will make sure that the suspect in question is interrogated thoroughly." It was different from the old days. Before now CC corp. had hidden these facts, and ignored them so that they could keep their reputation. However nowadays illegal activities were a public spectacle. Players enjoyed the capturing and destruction of cheat players who caused trouble.

A second player approached the woman on the dais. He was much shorter than her, and he toted around a large book between his arms. He whispered something to the woman, to which she smiled at.

"I have just been informed that the player known as Shota has been released from the hospital as of this morning." To this everyone cheered. "I promise you all that this matter is of utmost importance, and the Wavemaster will be dealt with."

After she saluted to everyone she disappeared. The page with the large book also took his leave soon after, once he was done taking statements from players who had information.

**Θ Server Root Town, Dun Loireag**

The golden rings faded as I entered the frontier town on the Θ server. I walked over to the Grunty Farm to check in on my grunty I purchased several weeks ago. Grunties were creatures that you could take care of and ride as mounts as they matured. They were cow-like creatures who spoke and had strange features depending on how they grew. I fed him the last of the grunty food I found while adventuring, and it grew a little. I patted its head, smiling.

One of the best things about The World is the part where you completely forget that you are playing a game. I had grown attached to my pet grunty, and enjoyed coming to see it when I could. I was accustomed to calling it Mr. Moo Moo, since it reminded me of a gentleman cow. I chuckled, and stood up to leave. When I turned I saw Gardenia and Lawk blocking my exit.

"Navel," began Lawk.

"What have you done?" Gardenia finished.

We moved over to the lookout and sat on the benches overlooking the cloudy hills in the distance. I told them everything that had happened since I saw them last. Lawk looked troubled. Gardenia was indifferent.

"Who cares if they think you're a criminal? You're not, right?" I shook my head. "Then you've got nothing to worry about. If you're innocent, they can not touch you. As for that merchant you spoke of. Had I been there, I would give him a beating he has never known." I smiled, and fell back on the grass, my hands up behind my head.

"So that Wavemaster's back?" said Lawk, scratching his chin. "Cool! I wanna meet him. Navel, where did you say you saw him?"

"No, Lawk. I don't want you going anywhere near him _or_ his dumbbell guardian. Legendary or no, what he did to that merchant is unacceptable. Promise me, Lawk. Stay clear of Tsukasa." I pleaded with him a little while longer until he agreed not to wander off in search of the Wavemaster.

"What will you do now?" said Gardenia. "I mean, everyone in Mac Anu is looking for you. Lady Rain of the Emerald Knights has even stepped in for this one."

I shrugged. "I'll have to speak to her and tell her my side of the story. Like you said. If I'm innocent I will go free. What, do you expect me to not log in for a couple days like you did that time you were avoiding a stalker? I'm not easily scared away, Gardenia."

She nodded, waving her hand. "Whatever you say," She stood up, using her trident as a support. "Just be careful, all right?"

When she left, Lawk inched closer to me, and rested his head on my chest. "Navel, I'm bored." He began ripping out grass and sprinkling it over my stomach. "Can we go on an adventure? Just the two of us?"

I stood up, pushing him aside. I smiled, and he wrinkled his nose at me. "Sure. Where do you want to go?"

He rolled over and then stood up, carrying his staff with him. "Do you remember that place we met?" he gazed up in the sky, his eyes gleaming. "The sky was orange, with tints of purple in the distance. There was a hill overlooking the endless meadows below. Do you remember? The field of roses. I want to go there, just to sit and relax for a bit."

I bit my lip, trying to recall the keywords for such a place. When they came to me, I grabbed his arm and made a run for the Chaos Gate. I raised my staff and entered the coordinates. "Then let's go. Are you ready?" Lawk cocked his head at me, his eyes still glistening. The golden rings enveloped us before he was able to respond.

**CC corp. Online Offices, ******** Server**

A large circular table sat in the center of a small, dark room. Eight chairs were positioned around it, and only four were occupied. The woman in emerald armor slammed a fist down hard, causing the table to rumble.

"You must calm down, Lady Rain," said her page, who sat at her side. "We will catch the Wavemaster."

Sitting across from the woman was a man in red armor, his hair a blonde mess. He stared blankly at her, his hands folded dutifully. "The Wavemaster, known as Navel, is being tracked down as we speak. He was last seen in the Theta server's root town, speaking to another player who goes by the name of Lawk. They passed through the Chaos Gate and onto a field in the Delta server not too long after. Since then, however, we have not been able to locate them. It is highly possible that they have passed through an area outside of our reach. I mean, it is not that difficult to imagine, is it? He _is_ an illegal character, after all."

Lady Rain stood up, glaring down at the table. "I want him found. Now." She turned to leave, but stopped suddenly. "When he is captured, bind him. Bring him to me, and only me. Is that understood?" The page and the man both nodded, and she gated out.

"I had believed The World to be completely free of trouble, ever since Aura took control of Altimit OS. I wonder what went wrong."

The page collected his book from the table and stepped out of his chair. "I will speak to upper management. I'll see if we can get Aura to lure the Wavemaster out, to make it a little easier on Lady Rain. She has been putting in a lot of hours lately, and I don't want her overworking herself."

"Indeed," said the man, nodding in agreement. He then stood up, shook the page's hand and together they gated out.

**Δ: Indiscreet, Solitary, Fertile Land**

The two of us were spread out on the ground as if creating snow angels in the flood of roses. The amber sky was striking, with hints of purple here and there. The clouds were an indescribable mix of both. A slow breeze caused the meadow to flow like a majestic sea of flowers, creating the illusion of paradise. I heard Lawk sigh as we watched clouds roll by. I tilted my head to the side to look at him.

"Something the matter?" I asked, raising my arm to the sky, as if reaching to grab a cloud. I pretended that I caught one and crushed it. Lawk then sat up and looked down at me with a troubled expression. I raised an eyebrow.

He plucked a rose from the ground, examining it. "No," he began, pulling back the petals. "It's just, well, I love it here. Can I tell you something, Navel?" I nodded to him and he continued. "Sometimes I just wish I could stay here, you know? I wish that this was real."

I sat up and chuckled, plucking a rose for myself. "I think that all players here wish that at some point. But we make the best of it by playing as if it is real." He smiled, and placed an arm on my shoulder.

"I know that people think you're a criminal right now…but I refuse to believe it. I know you too well. Don't let them get to you, all right?"

"Wow, get off topic much, Lawk?" I grinned, and smacked him on the back. We shared a laugh and decided to head into the dungeon, as we did not do so on our first visit here.

The place was like a cavern, completely dark, except for where torches lined the walls. There were small trees growing in corners, where illuminated crystals stuck out from the walls. We passed through two floors without a single monster encounter, which I found strange. When we reached the bottom floor Lawk pointed out a figure in the shadows. When we came closer, it flinched. The figure stepped out of the darkness and revealed itself as a small child wearing silver armor and covering its face with a shield.

"Um, excuse me," I said, backing up. "Are you all right? Do you need any healing?" the child removed its shield and showed its face. It was a small girl, whose face was wet with tears. "Can we help you?" I asked, kneeling down before her.

She backed up a little, and shook her head. Lawk knelt beside me and smiled. "It's all right. Lawk the Protector is here, so there's nothing to worry about, k?" The girl nodded, but kept her distance. "Are you a newbie?" he asked. She responded with a slight "uh-huh" and wiped the tears from her eyes. This I found odd, since no player would simulate crying while alone, unless they were overly dramatic. When I targeted her, I saw that she had no hit points.

"She's an NPC," I stated. "This must be an event that activates when someone comes down here." I stood up and pulled out my staff. "Little girl, what is it you seek?"

Lawk stepped back as well, and cajoled her to speak up.

"You must find the Everglow Stone," she said, still crying. "It is the only way I can see in the dark. Will you help me find the Everglow Stone?"

A window opened on my screen giving me the choice of either [Yes] or [No]. Since I was the party leader, it was my decision. I selected [Yes] and the girl brightened up. "Where to?" I asked, and the girl stepped into the light once more, and pointed down a long dark corridor to our left.

"You will find the Everglow in the Shrine of the Black Snake," said the girl, biting her thumbnail. Lawk and I peered down the hall and nodded simultaneously.

"Let's go," said Lawk and sprinted off into the darkness. I followed quickly and we descended into the next level down. The number of torches dwindled the farther in we went, and the background music grew more malevolent. When the final chamber came into view, a thundering sound reverberated off the cavern walls, and the ground shook. We drew our staves and awaited the boss.

From the ceiling came a slithering beast as black as sin, its teeth large and sharp. It bolted towards us, and we dodged it easily. Its size inhibited it from being as nimble as our characters, and we were able to take it down rather quickly. When it died, a chest appeared in its place. Lawk opened it and pulled out a key. We hastened to the final room and unlocked the doors. Inside of the Gott Statue room stood a large statue, cradling a magnificent blue diamond the size of my head. I removed it from its resting place and we returned to the NPC waiting for us. We handed her the object of her desire and she thanked us.

When she disappeared, we were granted each five hundred GP and gained an extra level. In addition, we received an item that looked like a winged solar cross, which was strung onto a necklace. I handed it over to Lawk. "Here, you can have this," I said. He accepted it and blushed. I rolled my eyes, grinning. I turned, and raised my staff. "That was great. Level sixty-three!" Lawk cheered as well, and teleported us back to the entrance with a Sprite Ocarina.

"I had no idea there was an event here. There was no mention of it on the BBS," he said, cradling a couple of coins one hand and fiddling with the amulet with the other. "Well, that was fun, but I have to log off now. Gotta go practice my violin. Recital tomorrow." I waved to him and he left. I decided that the field was no fun without Lawk here, so I went back to Mac Anu.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

The land was dead. Petrified trees dotted the landscape, creating a haunted forest surrounding a bubbling swamp. At its center stood a large black tower, a blood red crest painted on its front. The symbol was that of the thunder wave. On a balcony high above the swamp stood a man cloaked in black robes, his hood up. He sidestepped as a woman approached, outfitted in a skimpy black bikini-like uniform and a witch's hat. She rested her head on the man's shoulder, a seductive grin on her face.

"Someone has discovered and completed the Everglow event," said the man, placing his arm around the woman beside him. "After all this time, things are falling into place." He gave her a little squeeze and let go, and turned on the ball of his feet and walked over to the double doors leading into the tower. Before he left, he was stopped by the woman.

"And who might the lucky candidate be, exactly?" she asked, her pointer finger caressing her bottom lip.

"Some Wavemaster equipped the collar. The player's name is Lawk."

"Good. A Wavemaster is nice, but I would've preferred a Blademaster or something," she said, frowning. "Oh well. We will just have to use what we have, then. Am I right?" the man bowed his head. She snickered. "Start up the Hama Program. We're almost there, Locke. There are only two things standing in our way now."

"And that is getting through unhindered, like _him_. For some reason he was not complete when he entered. We must fix that. Once we gain control of Morganna, everything will be perfect. And then there is the matter of Helba. She's been meddling lately, and has tried keeping tabs on our movements. It hasn't been easy, but we've managed to keep them at bay."

The woman turned to face Locke, her fists clenched. "I will continue making more of those dumbbells while you're at work. Do not disappoint me, Locke. I'm counting on you."

"Demosthenes," he said, turning the handle. "I will make you proud. Soon we will leave that dreadful world and never suffer its downsides again. I promise you that." And as he left, the woman watched as part of the balcony disintegrated, revealing damaged data. The field was corrupting, and she merely laughed.

"The World, and all of its wonders, will soon be _mine_."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III: Guardian**

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

I wandered aimlessly through root town, ignoring everyone in my path. I paced down a dark alleyway; a skittish cat ran at the sound of my footsteps. I trekked down this path until it opened up to the back canals, near the meeting spot. Gardenia and Lawk were both gone, so I sat alone for a bit.

I let my legs drop into the water and they swayed with the current. I waved as a small boat passed by, three people on board. They smiled and waved back, continuing on down the channel. I became lost in the background music, its serene Gaelic melody acting as a lullaby. I imagined what it would be like to see Lawk outside of the game, playing his sad song on violin for a crowd of people.

Lawk and I met on the day I first logged into The World. This was when the Fragment version began. Out of the 1,024 beta testers, we were two of the lucky people chosen. I was eleven years old at the time. Lawk was nine. It was his first time playing too, he said, and we decided to create a party and help each other level up. Gardenia found us in a dungeon, running frantically out of the way. She entered our party and healed us, explaining the basics of combat. She told us that having just Wavemasters in a party was not wise, as their physical attacks were useless, and the amount of SP for spells they used was not infinite.

She agreed to help us face the dungeon, and we split the treasure afterward. And, ever since that day, we have been the best of friends. I had never met Lawk's character in the real world, but did get a chance to speak with him over the phone. However, because of his troubled home life, he was never allowed to stay long.

Gardenia was another story. She lived in the same region of Japan as I did, and I had met up with her several times.

When I came back to reality, I noticed that I was no longer alone; standing on either side of my avatar were two Emerald Knights, their swords poised in my direction. I stood up and turned around. A third knight was behind me, except she carried a halberd.

"Wavemaster Navel," she said, opening up a small window box in front of her. She tapped her fingers on an invisible keyboard and then turned the screen to face me. "I have found you. Do not run, there is no escaping me." I backed up until my heels touched the edge of the cobblestone. If I moved any farther I would plummet into the canal.

"What do you want with me? That player killer Shota is who you should be after, not me!"

"You were reported as a player killer. And CC corp. takes matters such as this very seriously. It is true, Shota is our real killer. But that is not why I am here. Through the logs I found that you said, quote _"Is that…a dumbbell?"_. Am I wrong?"

"No, but it wasn't--"

The woman put a hand up to silence me. "You were still in the presence of a creature said to have put victims of its attacks into comas. I want information. Tell me; is this being of your creation? Or someone you know?" The woman's face changed to that of a concerned mother.

I sat back down, grabbing my head. "I don't know who sent that thing after us," I said slowly. "And even if I did, I would not send it out killing people. Did you look into the fact that some Wavemaster from a couple years ago had one of those?"

The woman sighed. "We did, but the player known as Tsukasa has not been active since those events. What we have to go on right now is the fact that people believe you to be a player killer able to put people into comas. And since the player who fell under remembers nothing of this event, we shall not say otherwise. If you do not know what happened, then we shall say that the player must have had an epileptic seizure, or something. But I demand that you tell me everything should you see this monster again. Is that understood?" I nodded. "Good. I shall be in touch, Wavemaster Navel." She saluted, and ran off, her guards in tow.

I sighed heavily. _Wow. That went phenomenally better than I thought it would_, I thought, standing up again. I headed for the Chaos Gate and logged out to check my mail.

I had not opened my mailbox since Friday. It was now Sunday, and I had a lot of new emails. I opened the oldest ones first. Most of them were invitations from administrators, broadcasting new upcoming events. Some were angry messages telling me I was a rotten player killer. When I deleted them all, there were three emails left. One was from Lawk, the second from a friend called Nami. I did not recognize the newest email, so I steered clear of it for now. I opened up Nami's message first:

_**Subject: Eeeek!**_

_**Navel,**_

_**I was wondering when you'd come back to the game. Where've you been? I looked at the BBS today. Lawk told me the true story, but you should lay low for a while. That overstuffed Lady Rain held a public audience with Mac Anu citizens earlier this morning, you know, vowing to capture you. But I'll bet you already knew if you were caught already. Well, if you're on later we should meet up, k? I'd like to participate in this event they're holding in Carmina Gadelica tonight. Message me back. I'll be here!**_

_**-Nami**_

_So Nami's been looking for me,_ I thought quietly. I looked over her message again. _I didn't know that there was an event tonight._ I responded with a letter of approval and agreed to meet her there, so long as Lawk came back in time.

_Oh yeah! Lawk's message!_ I eagerly opened his email and waited for it to load. When it did I consumed it greedily:

_**Subject: Change of plans**_

_**I am so sorry,**_

_**I can not come on for a while, Navel. There's been a problem, and I—well, it's just better to leave it at that. Please don't be angry. I know you wanted to go to that thing on Wednesday with me, but is there any chance you and Gardenia could go? I have to go, they're back. I will see you whenever I can. Again, Navel, I am really sorry.**_

_**-Lawk**_

_There's been a…problem?_ Whenever we spoke on the phone, he did not speak much of his personal problems. It was just exciting to speak to one another. _What could possibly have gone wrong?_ I wondered. _I hope that he is all right._

I logged back in soon after, ignoring the mysterious email completely. _Maybe another time_. When I appeared back in Mac Anu, I headed down to the square. Up in the sky, suspended above the dais was a large screen-like notice board. It spoke of an upcoming event on the Λ server, in Carmina Gadelica. Tonight's event was to begin there, but entailed travel throughout some of that server's many fields. Others were reading off the board as well, and when they saw me, whispers began flooding my speakers. I turned to face them all down. Some walked away, some glared. Others merely smiled and took their leave quietly.

Back at the Chaos Gate I stopped to check my member address list. I needed to get my mind off of the message I received from Lawk, and not worry myself into a heart attack. I scrolled down the list. Only one name was lit up, and I did not feel up to dealing with _her_. Her name was Obatoya, a Heavy Axe-user who, in my opinion, feigned her stories and background. She was sketchy, all right, and probably a compulsive liar. She "knew" Emma Wielant, she said; brought her cookies as a young Girl Scout years ago. My friend Gatsu looked her up on a community web page and found that she was too old to have been a scout when Emma was alive, and that she had never been to Germany. I shrugged off Obatoya's lies, mainly because I did not care. I just did not like her.

I exited out of the address list and, unfortunately, was smacked with a PM—Private Message:

**"Hey, Navel! Come meet me at Σ: Withered, Tempting, Sand Storm, k? Come on, it'll be soo much fun! (^^)"**

Any time I thought negatively of Obatoya, it was as if she could tell, and would message me. I decided that, to not receive any more annoying requests, it would be better to humor her for a bit. She probably wanted me to come support her in a dungeon, have me do most of the work, and then claim the Gott Statue prizes for herself, as always.

Turning back to the Chaos Gate, I entered the keywords and warped to the zone on the  server. Arriving, I was met with the colorful-but-ugly Obatoya.

"Oh, I just knew you'd come, Navi!" Oba knelt and gave her most grandiose bow. "And so he comes, to greet the helpless damsel in distress." Grinning, she stood up and smiled, whipping out her over-sized axe. "You ready to get some treasure?"

I grimaced and made an audible groan, to which she ignored. "For you, you mean? I'm not just some dog you can command to protect you, you know…"

"Obviously you are, Navi, else you wouldn't be here, now would you? Hm?" She laughed wickedly, and turned. "So, I'm thinking we head into the dungeon and all that. And then maybe we can role play a bit, pretend I'm a princess who's able to fight, and you're the strange wizard side-kick! Won't it be just the best thing EVER?"

I pulled out my staffand equipped it. "You know, let's just get this over with, all right? I'd really just like to burn time until this evening."

She was gone before my words even hit her. I followed after, for some reason, and we entered the dreadful dungeon.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Demosthenes stretched out on the balcony's floor, gazing up at the sky which had nearly finished decaying. Almost every star was gone; and in their stead were numbers, symbols and many other signs of corruption. She grinned and stood up quickly as another person entered her periphery.

"Ah. Locke, you're back. Any news?"

He hoisted himself onto the balcony railing, removing his hood. His grass-green hair glistened in the dying light coming off the moon. He folded his arms and rolled his neck, loosening a cramp.

"Plenty, but nothing we haven't already heard. I have been monitoring that Wavemaster since he equipped the amulet, and it looks like our plan has been temporarily postponed. In an email to another player, he stated that he will not be back online for a while." He paused for a moment, tapping the end of his staff on the side of the railing. "On a happier note, however, I did manage to get some information while sneaking around Net Slum."

Demosthenes perked up at this, brushing off some dust from her shoulder. "That's juicy. What did you hear?"

He snickered. "Well, it appears that she's been hard at work containing and deleting your Guardians as they spawn. She is quite fast, it seems. And she's also been interfering with our Everglow event. She knew it was a hoax, from the moment it begun. She's keeping tabs on the Wavemaster Lawk now, as well. This might be a problem for us later, so I advise we be more careful."

"Oh, Locke," she nestled up beside him, rubbing her cheek to his shoulder. "You underestimate my powers. Let her continue deleting my monsters. She will soon discover what she is doing, and it will be too late, and she'll be powerless. As for the other matter…the moment, and I mean the _moment_ that Wavemaster logs back on, grab him. I will have no mistakes. This must be absolutely perfect. We can not just have our test subjects getting into the wrong hands, now can we?" Locke shook his head and continued tapping his staff on the railing. "Ugh, you're still carrying that thing around?" she tilted backwards, making a sign of disgust. "Skeith's Red Wand."

"Let's say it has sentimental value to me. And besides, it did give us the capability to use the power of Data Drain, after all."

She chortled mischievously and slapped his thigh. "Whatever you say, dear. I'll be working, if you need me, that is."

"I doubt I will," said Locke, vaulting over the side of the balcony, disappearing mid-air into golden rings that gated him away.

 **Withered, Tempting, Sand Storm**

"Kill it! Kill it, kill it, KILL IT!!!" Obatoya was huddling in a corner, cowering in fear of such a weak monster. I raised my staff, cried out "GiGan Don!", and the beast was no more. Experience was divided in half, even though I did all of the work. She had not one successful hit this whole expedition, and yet, since we were both in the same party, we had to share.

"You know, I won't always be around to cater to your needs. You must level yourself up once in a while." I turned, and drank a Healing Potion, sharing none with Obatoya.

"Hey, would you give me one of tho--"

"No. Go back to root town and buy some yourself." I walked on ahead, and opened a chest at the end of the room, receiving nothing good except for some Grunty food.

"But prices went up there! Even Mac Anu's expensive nowadays! You can't just let me die, you know. You're a Wavemaster; you deliver _support_ to _actual_ combatants! Now heal me!"

I turned, enraged. "If I'm just here to support you, _Oba_, then why have you missed _every single hit_!? You've done nothing to help us advance, not one bit! I've done _all_ of the work, and, yes. I'm a Wavemaster! You're an Axe-user! You should be better at this!"

I could now hear sobbing on the other end, and I knew all too well what fake emotions looked and sounded like. "You're a real jerk, Navi, you know that?"

"It's Navel. And I'm done here. I'm going on ahead, and I'm canceling our party session. Feel free to leave, it's your choice. Without me, you'll die down here and lose all of that experience you siphoned from me." I scowled, and left her there, kneeling on the dirt floor, simulating sadness.

She huffed and I could see the glow of the golden rings on the wall. _Finally_, I thought. _Gone_. I followed the next room's flight of stairs down deeper into the dungeon, reaching the final floor. I took down a barrage of monsters, all without needing a potion. Obatoya really was a hindrance to my game play. I rarely needed healing, unless she was around to get in my way.

As I entered the Gott Statue room, I noticed the reflection off the glass before me another set of golden rings illuminate behind me. _What now? Trying to loot my treasure, Oba?_ I turned, angered by the intrusion and somewhat confused at how she could warp from the field to the lowest level of a dungeon. It was not possible.

"Eh…?" To my surprise, it was not Obatoya at all, but another PC giving me an uncomfortable stare. The player was definitely female, but I could not see her face, as it was shrouded behind a large helmet of some sort, a red visor covering her eyes. Her inappropriate white uniform wrinkled as she bowed to me. When she straightened up, her lips stretched into a disturbing smile.

"Hello," said the woman, an uncanny tone in her voice. "My name is Helba, and you are Navel. It is lovely to meet you."

My eyes widened and I backed up a bit. "H…Helba?" I whispered, shocked. "What do you want? What could I possibly have for…for you?"

She hovered about six inches off the ground and ventured closer to me, looking like a ghost. "Wavemaster Navel. I have information regarding the Twilight Guardian you encountered recently," she stopped and took a look at her well-manicured fingernails. "And I would also advise you to warn your friend to remove that item you received in Δ: Indiscreet, Solitary, Fertile Land. I am not sure what was contained within it, but I can tell you that it _is_ dangerous, and must advise you to be rid of it as soon as possible."

I frowned, staring down at the ground. "It would have been nicer to tell us this bit of information earlier, because Lawk's not going to be back for a while…"

"Pity. Well, regardless. About that Guardian, then. It appears that you are not the only one who has experienced these miraculous appearances as of late. This afternoon three more encounters were reported. They must be after someone helpless and desperate, as they appear only where there is a victim of a player killer. Steer clear of these monsters, and you will be all right." She then turned around, looking over to the treasure chest. "That one's fine. Well, gotta run. Take care, my young friend." She chuckled and gated out, stepping through a rift in the wall.

I only took what she said about Lawk to heart. _What is wrong with the amulet? I've gotta warn him, before something happens to his character data…or worse. But how?_ I opened the treasure chest, receiving a Golden Grunty. I left the dungeon and headed over to Carmina Gadelica soon after, and made a quick email to Lawk, so that he could read it upon returning to The World. When I finished, I heard a herald of trumpets playing near the Chaos Gate. I walked over, and found Nami in the crowd surrounding it. Out of the gate stepped a woman clad in a silver sleeveless jacket that went to her ankles. Her collar was opened a bit, revealing cleavage. A long, brilliant sword hung off her oversized belt and she wore an eye patch. She had armored gauntlets and boots, which was the extent of protection she had. Her curly chestnut hair swayed in the wind.

_Haven't I seen her somewhere before?_ I thought. _Maybe another RPG…Oh, that's right._ The woman had modeled her character off of a secondary playable character in a popular fantasy game. Her name was Beatrix.

"First off, I would like to thank you all for attending," said the woman in a raised voice. "Tonight's event will soon begin, and it would be wise to prepare yourselves, as this one will include battle, strategy, intelligence and much more!" She raised her arm above her head and streamers sprang from it and fell in all directions. "When everybody is ready, please register over there, at the Save Shop." She pointed out the little store nearby. The crowd soon burst apart and people were everywhere, buying weapons from here, items from there. It was all so confusing.

I accepted Nami into my party and we joined the masses and readied ourselves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV: Demonstration**

**Λ: Expansive, Primitive, Pilgrimage**

Nami and I had been participating in the event for about three hours. We traversed twelve dungeons, battled many more monsters, and solved four ridiculous riddles. We reached another dungeon and thought about calling it quits. That was, however, until she told me that if we did not finish she would cut me. And though she was joking, I knew that she would hold a grudge. So we trekked on, and set about solving another puzzle.

A large statue sat at the center of the room, its eyes glowing bright. "Answer me this and the path onward shall be revealed," it said, its voice a thunderous boom. "Do you accept this?"

We both nodded. "Yes, we accept."

'_Long past the crucible of Moyra,_

_They sheltered in a citadel:_

__________, so said its denizens_

_Where mind and body could be cleansed_

_Of any hardships one endured…'_

"Tell me, young ones. Who were they? And where did they find their safe haven?" asked the statue.

I thought for a minute while Nami rambled on about how confusing these puzzles were. I knew I heard this quote from somewhere before, but couldn't pinpoint just where. When I remembered, I smacked myself in the face.

"They were the heroes from the _Epitaph of Twilight_, by the famous web poet Emma Wielant." Nami's eyes grew so wide I expected them to burst. "And they headed for Fort Ouph."

The statue's eyes flashed, and I heard a bell chime. The structure began sinking into the floor and was replaced by a golden treasure chest. I knelt to open it and pulled out a gear that looked like a puzzle piece.

On our way out of the dungeon, Nami exploded. "_You've_ read _Epitaph of the Twilight_!? How? When? Where?" She would not stop bothering me about it, even as I ignored her, all the way over to Fort Ouph.

"When it was still on the web, way back when I was a little kid," I said nonchalantly. "Ten years ago. I was nine at the time."

"That's so awesome! I never knew that!" I shook my head and rolled my eyes, continuing onward. We saw a large wall that was never here in the Aerial City before, and it had a lot of gears turning on it. I groaned.

"An _actual_ puzzle this time." I pulled out the gear from before and looked around on the wall. There was an empty place where a gear was supposed to go, but I knew it would not be so easy. And besides, from the shape of this one, it would not fit.

Nami and I scoured around for a bit, examining the different shapes and sizes, until she attempted to just jam the piece into the empty slot angrily.

"No, no. You're doing it all wrong," I said, placing an arm in front of her, to keep her away from the wall. "This must be part of the last puzzle. We came to Fort Ouph, and that is where Gorre appeared. From there, it goes something like this:

'_As pity laced her heavy heart, _

_Fili strode towards the beast_

_Whose crushing limbs were now repulsed_

_Ere they touched her ivory skin;_

_When came she nigh with rapier drawn_

_A single thrust did slay its brawn,_

_For mercy guided Fili's blade_

_Where scorn could never penetrate.'_

"I think that this is the piece of "scorn" the poem mentions. We've just gotta find the piece that looks like mercy." We took a little while longer and finally Nami found it. The gear was shaped like a teardrop. She pulled it out, revealing an indentation in the wall that the drop did not fit, just overlapped. I placed in the gear we had found and nestled in the new one into the empty space. The wall crumbled at this and I could hear the faintest sound of someone crying.

Another chest appeared at the base of where the structure had fallen, and inside laid a white blade with the word "Mercy" embedded on it. I let Nami take it, and she equipped it immediately. We also received a message stating that we were to return to Carmina Gadelica right away.

**Λ Server Root Town, Carmina Gadelica**

When we arrived back at the city of endless night we were greeted by a wave of applause and cheer. Beatrix strode up and stepped between us, grabbing one of our arms each and raising them high into the air.

"I give you our champions! Master Navel and Lady Nami!" She let go and walked forward, addressing the masses. "I would like to thank you all for participating in this event with me. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, and will be sure to do this again real soon." She turned to us, and smiled. "Now, because of your great victory against the evils of the 'Wave' this evening, CC corp. would like to congratulate you both with a special gift."

"A gift," I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Why, a modification, of course. Or a weapon. Armor, perhaps? Maybe an item?" I turned to look at Nami, and then back to Beatrix.

Nami went in first. "I want wings. Not tiny things, like some axe-users have, but real ones, like the great Descendant of Fianna himself, Balmung of the Azure Sky!"

"Done!" another wave of cheer echoed throughout the town, and Nami became illuminated in a golden light. When it dissipated, she stood before us all with large, black angel wings. She grinned and struck a pose, two fingers up in a 'peace' sign.

I laughed at this and began thinking of what I wanted. "What'll it be for you, slick?" asked Beatrix, inching closer to my face, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Well…I would also like wings, if that isn't too much trouble. But," I paused, and Beatrix sighed, about to cast the spell. "I do not want them for me. I want them for a friend of mine who really deserves them."

Beatrix patted me on the shoulder, and smacked my nose gently with a finger. "No problem, kid. Done!" She snapped her fingers and a green and gold box appeared in her hand. She placed it into my care and bowed. "For your friend. Master Navel of the Aqua Capital, and Lady Nami of the Frontier Town. Congratulations once more, and I hope you enjoyed the evening."

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

I sat on the bridge, my legs hanging over the side, the parcel in my lap. I waited patiently for Gardenia to arrive, so that I could tell her all about Sunday night's previous event. I began whistling quietly until someone came and sat beside me. It was Nami, her large black wings tucked in.

"Hey," I said, tapping my fingers on the box. She began fingering the feathers on one of her wings, her eyes staring off into the distance. "You enjoying your wings?"

She bobbed her head as if she were dozing off, and scoffed at herself. "Not as much as I thought, actually." She stood up, and showed off her avatar, spreading out her wings. She wore a long black dress with red lining. There was a skull patch on the front of it, and she had one shoulder pad, made completely of bone. A large spike protruded from the tip. Her hair was also black, with red streaks on either side of her face. The wings made her look like a glum angel.

"Nice," I said sarcastically, whistling again.

"So how come you're not taking your wings and putting them on? I mean, they would look really odd on you, but you deserve them. What's the deal?"

I shook my head and stood up, facing her. "As I said last night, they're for my friend. That's all."

"It's Lawk, isn't it?" she said, making a faint smile. "That's sweet, Navel. I always knew you two had something special going on."

I attempted to return the smile, but instead stared blankly in her direction. "I guess, but I wouldn't really say it like that. Lawk's been my best friend for so many years. I've grown accustomed to him, you know?"

"Admit it, there's more to it, and you know that." She elbowed me in the stomach, cackling. "I see the way you two interact."

Rolling my eyes, I turned to leave. "I'm going to head over to the Chaos Gate now, Nami. I'll talk with you again later."

She smiled and nodded. I dodged over the bridge and up the steps to Chaos Square, and sat in a corner. I held my staff in front of me to rest my head on and nodded off for a bit.

"Well, fine. I'll just leave you here, looking like a homeless wizard," said Gardenia, kicking me out of my sleep. I reflexively jumped up and raised my staff.

"Oh, it's just you, Gardenia. Sorry, I guess I was still tired. Work was so tiring, and really long."

"I know what you mean. My job is the same way," she gazed around, scanning her surroundings. "So, what're you up to today, Navel? I hope that this venture here was not in vain, as I do really loathe when things have no point."

_Same old Gardenia_. "I was thinking that, since it is Wednesday, maybe we could go participate in an event that I was originally going to go on with Lawk."

"Secondary choice. That sounds rather awful, if you ask me—but you're not—however, because I am not busy, I will be glad to accompany you. Even if I was not your first choice."

I winced. Knowing she was merely joking, it still hit me as if she were sincere. "Well, all right. Let's go. They start in about fifteen minutes; we'd better register and then head over to the town square."

"Right. Let's go!"

**CC corp. Online Offices, Λ Server**

"It would seem that Balmung of the Azure Sky is no longer a unique individual," snorted Beatrix, leaning back in her chair. She sat at the head of a long rectangular table, with seven others around her. "Two players were given the Wings of Twilight, just on Sunday evening."

The man in red armor with the wild blonde hair grabbed his stomach as he laughed, so that he wouldn't hurt himself. "Well, he's going to hate that! People are going to expect wings now after every event," he said, glaring down at Beatrix, while continuing his uproar.

"Yes, I suppose it was a mistake on my part. It will not happen again, I can promise you that. I've already sent an email to the player Nami, asking for her to select another modification, and she will think about it. As for the Wavemaster, he said that the wings were a special gift for his friend. I'm sure he will not give them up lightly."

A large woman several seats down scratched her head. "Well, what did you offer the Blademaster? What else could she possibly want other than the famous Wings?"

"A flying mount, of course. She wants the ability to fly, that's all," interrupted a seething bald axe-user.

The blonde man stood up, smiling. "Well, if the Wavemaster would cooperate, we could offer him a flying broom. I mean, he _is_ a spell caster, which is as close to a witch as you can get. But for a Blademaster, there's nothing to offer."

Beatrix shook her head, popping open a window in front of her. "A feather. She mentioned a feather. Something that she could stick in her hair as a head piece and transfigure into a flying mount at will. It is not that difficult to manufacture, I'm sure. Mr. Hagi, Miss Katsuru, I would like you to get started with these designs immediately, if It is no hassle." The bald man and the plump woman both nodded and gated out. "As for you, Daybreak." The blonde's face brightened. "I want you to get to work on today's event. I am rather busy this afternoon. I'm booked."

"As you wish." Daybreak stood up and bowed, leaving the room with a "thumbs up" salute.

**Ω: Graceful, Tempting, Fallen Angel**

The man in red armor—Daybreak—stood on a large platform, two Ruby Knights in tow, and shook Lady Rain's hand as she and an envoy of Emerald Knights stepped up onto the dais.

"Lady Rain of Mac Anu, and I, Daybreak of Dun Loireag, would like to welcome you all to the event of the seasons! Twilight Dragon…You all know what I am talking about. Well, this day marks the anniversary of the imprisonment of the graceful beast. Your task is to follow the clues to find the two henchmen of the Abominable Wave, the Dragons of Dusk and Dawn. Strike them down, and release the Bringer of Light!"

Lady Rain stepped up next, taking her opportunity to chime in. "And at the end of the event the winning party will be granted a fantastic prize! For starters, we shall pay for their access fees for an entire year, starting tomorrow!" A loud cheer ran through the crowd. Even Gardenia sounded impressed by this. "And secondly, we shall grant the party a level enhancement of plus five! But for the last and greatest prize of them all, you shall have to wait and find out! Now, let the games begin!"

"Before you all go, I must give a little story about this particular field. A couple of years ago, this place appeared randomly onto the Omega server. The dungeon bears many floors, much more than the average amount. There will be dangerous beasts down below, and CC corp. expects to hear each and every report of anything strange that may happen there."

And with that the crowd flocked into the dungeon at once, battle ready and eager. "Are you ready to win something great, Navel?" said Gardenia, drinking a potion to increase her attack power. "Because I do not like to lose."

As I whipped out my staff I turned, and gave her a familiar mischievous grin. "Let's do it!"

**Ω: Bursting, Passionate, Treasure Gem**

Beatrix ran as fast as she was able, her sword scraping against the narrow canyon walls. As she sped through the trench, she could see the figure's shadow from above, moving here and there. She tilted her head to see if she could find her pursuer.

Stopping, she inched back against the wall and looked around frantically. When she decided that they had given up, she let out a long sigh. When she attempted to move on, the shadow loomed over her and directly in front of her, from above, landed the enemy. He wielded a long red wand and had messy green hair that seemed to have been styled off of a shock from an electric socket. His grin made Beatrix shudder, but she would not falter, not now.

"What do you want with me?" asked Beatrix, breathing heavily. "If it was an audience you desired, you should have accosted me at Palace Carmina." She leered at the pale man, fascinated by his silver and lavender silk finery.

"Ah, an audience, a consultation, a meeting of minds…a partnership," he bowed low to the ground gracefully, so that his pristine silken sleeves swept the rocky ground. He modulated his voice when he spoke, like an actor declaiming his lines. Beatrix narrowed her eyes.

"A partnership? You presume much, my foolish friend," she stated bluntly. She was playing with the man now, as he had with her.

"I presume much because I have much to offer my lady." The man paced forward several steps so that he could speak in a lower tone of voice. His gestures continued to be theatrical. "What matters the most is what I bring." From out of one of his voluminous sleeves he drew out something resembling a doll. He tugged at it hand over hand like a charlatan magician. His slender hands shook out a piece of fabric, revealing that it was an eerie puppet cat in a floppy steeple hat with a gold star printed over its left eye. It was dressed in a small pair of shoes, a vest, and a robe that was tucked into its trousers. Beatrix could not have pinned her finger on just what made the strange little moppet so uncanny; perhaps it was the eyes and their deep crimson setting, so dark it was impossible to tell if they were merely imitations or were actually watching her.

"You offer me toy? Perhaps my daughter would like to play with your dolly, but she's rather outgrown such things at the age of fifteen."

"Ah, but can your daughter's toys do this?" asked the man, extending the puppet's arms and then releasing. Those bloody eyes lit up and, instead of toppling to the ground when the pale man let go, it jerked forward, bending awkwardly halfway to the floor, and then stood up on its own. It staggered forward a few steps and brought its hands together as if it were in prayer.

"Very clever, puppeteer. I admit that you've entertained me, so I shall not punish you for wasting my time in this manner." A battalion of Amber Knights appeared and surrounded them. Her message _had_ been received! Fire began blossoming between the mannequin's hands.

Beatrix's right-hand man raised his sword and gasped. He stepped forward and grabbed the man's sleeve, angling his blade to his throat. "If you wish to live, call off your golem," he shouted, his voice ringing clear as metal through the canyon. The Amber Knights stepped forward and closed in on the man and his eccentric toy, their weapons drawn and ready to taste blood.

When the man did not move instantly, the captain allowed his weapon to bite into his flesh. A drop of blood welled up on the tip of his blade and ran down its length. He was met by an angry hiss.

"It was merely a demonstration, Rose." With a dramatic wave of his wrist the puppet collapsed into a heap of clothes again. The captain withdrew his sword from his smooth throat, now marred with a smudge of red, but kept it leveled at his heart. The sunlight reflected in his glittering defiant eyes.

"Captain Eckhart, call off the knights and let us hear what the gentleman has to say in his defense." Beatrix sounded imperial now. She wanted to know what the man's angle really was. She had not been too shaken by the incident. The captain moved his subordinates back.

The man's moth-white hand fluttered to his neck and he eyed his blood-smeared fingers with surprise. "The rose garden is filled with thorns," he said softly, his voice pitched for Beatrix's ears alone. The seductive whisper poured down her spine like ice water. She sheathed her sword and backed up a bit.

"My Most Beloved Lady, I, your humble subject Locke, merely wished to show you the effectiveness of my powers." He swept another self-affecting bow, so low that she thought his forehead nearly touched the ground. Now he was playing the unassuming servant, but she could see his cold eyes flashing, even in this role. She did not trust him.

"And what would I want with your powers, Locke?" she asked, laughing hard, shaking. "As you can see I have quite efficient and effective soldiers at my disposal."

"Yes. Quite effective, for mere audience chamber guards. But what of your vast campaigns? With the power of the Phases Reborn they are not swayed by paltry human consideration like emotion, hunger, compassion and honor." He spat the last at the ground as though it tasted most bitter indeed. Beatrix felt the chill of anger settling in her heart. How dare he belittle her comrades for their humanity?

"My Phases will never be felled by fatigue nor driven back because they must sleep or go to work. They will obey your every whim without question, Lady Beatrix." Locke stared into her eyes. It was almost as if he could sense how much she resented being here. She dearly wished to be able to close her eyes, but even such an infinitesimal action would concede defeat to this man with a serpent's grace.

"Campaigns? I have planned no campaigns," said Beatrix, but rather than being affronted and angry she merely sounded interested.

"My lady--" said the captain, but Locke interrupted.

"Oh, but you will." Locke observed, smiling charmingly. "You _will_."

"What is your true angle, Locke?"

"All we want is to become _part_ of The World…you've been briefed about Harald's entrance into The World, by that "Ultimate AI", haven't you? You should know what Demosthenes and I are after."

She drew out her sword once more and raised it into the air. "This conversation is over," she stated, and she and the knights gated out simultaneously.

Ω**: Graceful, Tempting, Fallen Angel**

On the thirteenth floor we stopped to recover for a moment. "This is tough," said Gardenia, emptying a Mage's Soul. "I don't think we're going to make it this time. Several parties passed by us already. Who knows who'll defeat—"

A message appeared on our screens telling us to warp back to the field. I groaned and pulled out a Sprite Ocarina. "Jinx," I breathed, and we headed back up.

Upon arrival we saw three players: a Blademaster, Wavemaster and a Twinblade, all being crowned by Lady Rain. Daybreak stood before them all, kneeling and saluting to each of them, one at a time.

"It is my great pleasure to award Matsura, Tabbycat and Jordan the award of a lifetime!" Daybreak stood up, and took a large box from a knight at his side. "Along with your free one-year access payment and five new levels, as promised, the Ruby and Emerald Knights would like to endow you with the limited edition Twilight Weapons!"

Lady Rain opened Daybreak's box and pulled out a purple and silver blade. "For Matsura, the Blademaster." She then drew out a beautiful silver wand, with a golden spiritual orb hovering above. "And to Tabbycat, the Wavemaster." She then pulled out two silver and gold daggers, handing them over. "And, finally, to Jordan, the Twinblade!"

"Thank you all for attending, and good night!" shouted Daybreak, gating out along with his Ruby Knights. Lady Rain and her followers took their leave soon after, and left all of the participants alone.

"That was great," I said gloomily. "We didn't win, but we gained some levels. That was a difficult dungeon. I'm pretty proud of myself."

Gardenia agreed and raised her trident. "I am just glad I came back here after all this time. I haven't been to this field since the last Twilight Incident, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yes. This was where the dot hackers recovered one of our fallen comrades. Little Elk was so happy, I nearly cried. But I didn't, for the record."

I fell on the ground, laughing hard at this. I gave her a hug and we parted ways. "That was fun. I'm glad you came with me."

"No problem, kid. Talk to you soon."

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"You careless imbecile!" Demosthenes smacked Locke to the cold stone with her wand, growling. "You didn't even think about her reporting your meeting with her associates, did you? You simple fool. You never think! You could have ruined _everything!_" She struck the Wavemaster once more and, with her staff's power, hoisted him high into the air. "I have no choice but to punish you, dearest Locke." And, with a single command, he was wrapped in an explosion of iridescent, flickering lights. In other words, he was subjected to Data Drain. When he toppled back onto the cobblestone, she threw herself over his shoulders seductively. "What _will_ I do with you? Ha-ha---ha ha ha ha ha!" She pulled out a knife and held it at his cheek, letting it carve into the side of his face and then walked off, leaving the other alone to wallow in pain.

"Ma…Macha," said Locke, barely able to move. A ripple opened in the air and a humanoid cat PC, similar to the puppet he animated before, stepped out and bowed. "Monitor…monitor Beatrix. Make sure that…that she does not speak a word of…this. If she tries, you know…what to do."

Macha nodded its head, and opened its mouth to speak. No sound followed, but somehow Locke was able to understand him. "That's right. Get to it." The cat bowed again and patted Locke's head, and disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V: Comatose**

**Palace Carmina, Λ Server**

Lately, Beatrix was restless. She paced about in the audience chamber with manic intensity, her eyes burning into the polished marble floors, and then scorched the air in all directions, scanning for trouble. She felt trapped and unappreciated, but her loyalty to The World would not waver, not because of Locke. Her boot tips aimed towards the large double doors when they opened, admitting Locke's elegant silk-clad figure.

"Good evening, Lady Beatrix," he said, nodding her way. He was always impeccably polite to her, being careful never to phrase her own directions, or his initiatives as orders, but always as requests.

"What are you gaining from all of this, Locke? What are your motives?" Her nerves were too frayed for his soft, milky words.

"Now is the time to take a leading role, Beatrix, to stride with firm and even tread across the stage of The World, never hesitating for whispered prompts from the wings. We must become heroes; heroes in our own play." His voice grew deeper and richer as he elaborated on his theme and his eyes glowed with amusement and charm.

"Do not hand me that rubbish," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I am not besotted with your constant harping on the theme of theatre. I am not upper management and you do not dance the strings of my actions. Nor will you, so long as I draw breath." Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

"Rose," Locke enjoyed calling her, for some reason, his silver eyes sharp with warnings. "You are distraught. You have been too long at your post. Would you please accompany me on a walk in one of The World's many fields? I find it refreshing to take in the night breeze, don't you?" It was phrased as a request, but it was an order all the same. And if she wished to retain the little influence she had in The World, she would have to accede to this man's wishes. She nodded curtly and followed him through the double doors, pausing only to direct her captain to take the evening post.

"And, as I told you before…we strive to enter The World, and you'll help us achieve that."

**Λ: Sinking, Hopeless, Twin Hills**

While they stood on the battlements of a ruined castle, stationed between two large mountains, they watched the torchlight spread out in fiery points across the water like gleaming javelins. Locke turned to Beatrix, a grave look on his face. She stood stiffly at his side but did not meet his eyes.

"Should you wish it, Rose, I can keep you informed about the contents of my meetings with Demosthenes."

"Whether _you_ wish it or not, Locke, I will discover them myself," she responded, still gripping her sword hilt. "I will not report you to CC corp., as I really should, because I feel that you two will simply disappear if they get involved. That is why I am going at this alone, to stop you myself."

Locke cracked a smile, ignoring her. "It is not my will that you are excluded from these conferences, Beatrix," he said gently. She bristled. How dare he handle her with children's gloves, as though she were only worthy of his pity?

"It is Demosthenes' wish, then, and I do not really care. I am only loyal to The World."

"Yes, loyal to the letter, my lady, but you needn't be loyal to the point of stupidity and blindness. I know what it is to be constrained beneath another's rule and yet be even worthier than them, enough so to be able to rule instead." Beatrix kept her eye trained on the black water and gripped the stone parapet.

"I am not worthy to run The World," she whispered as the wind blew a strand of hair into her mouth.

"Oh, but I disagree," Locke murmured, brushing the hair away from her lips, his slender fingers tracing their curves. Beatrix slapped his wrist away from her mouth, confused and troubled.

"I am just a system administrator," she retorted, glaring at him now. Locke's wide eyes looked entirely guileless; he tucked his own short hair behind his ears.

"You could be more, much more," he said. "But I forget myself. I was offering you Demosthenes' plans. She is preparing an army of dumbbell beasts to annex Mac Anu, before those foolish Emerald Knights can implement a return-fire."

"What need has she of the Twilight Guardians? When have my soldiers ever failed her?" Beatrix asked, feeling her pride sting. The guilt of even using her knights for traitorous ways began crawling around in her stomach.

"Never, my lady. Never shall you fail; even as a damaged blossom you are lovely and terrible. But think about it, Rose, the dumbbells will spare your soldiers. They will be on the front lines, drawing the attacks away from the troops." Beatrix's heart warmed to the idea, proud and worthy as her Amber Knights were, many of them would be fired in a siege, and she did not want people losing their jobs. Why risk that with front-line battle, when Guardians could draw attack from them?

"Very well," she replied, fingering her sword's scabbard. "If such is Demosthenes' will."

"You are not as cold as you are purported to be, are you, Rose?" She turned away from him, ashamed that he had sensed a weakness in her: the care for her soldiers. "I will keep you informed, Beatrix." Locke placed a hand on her shoulder. "It is but fitting that you should share in the planning of this siege, that you should continue to protect The World."

And as he left her alone, she still felt the cold presence that he held. _What am I doing?_ she asked herself, gazing out over the waters. _I am going to turn my back against The World, just so that this man I met and his associate can _enter_ The World. Why would anyone, in their right mind, want to do such a painful thing, abandoning the safety of the real world to become part of the net?_ She shook her head and turned to leave, these thoughts playing over and over again in her head. Why was this man so interesting? Why did she not just report everything back to CC corp.? She could not pinpoint the reason, but she would not stray from the path she had taken. It was not her method.

**Δ Delta Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

I finished trading with a burly Pole Arm who was looking for a powerful spear. I handed him one that I found in a dungeon several weeks earlier, after the event I went on with Gardenia. He traded me a level sixty-five Witch's Stick. I shook his hand and bowed my head, thanking him and took my leave.  
As I walked through town I overheard bits of a rumor, here and there, about a legendary item that was said to have been hidden somewhere on the Lambda server. I thought nothing of it, as I did not really care.

_However_, I thought, staring blankly at the Chaos Gate. _Strange things _have_ been happening there, ever since the endless sightings of those dumbbell beasts that started springing up. And the Amber Knights aren't really doing much about them._ I stepped up and opened the Gate list, scrolling through various keywords, searching for my desired field.

"Navel?"

I stopped what I was doing and turned to see who called. When I finally saw him, I nearly dropped my controller. "Lawk!" I cried, running down the steps and trampling him. "You're back! You didn't email me. Where've you been? What have you been doing?"

He lowered his head, his foot shifting around bashfully on the cobblestone. "What does it matter, Navel? I'm back. Hey, why did you tell me to take this off?" He pulled out his amulet and raised it so I could see. "What's wrong with it?"

I took it and ushered him to the back alley, where I told him about everything, from the meeting with Helba all the way up to the recent barrage of Twilight Guardians. He seemed disconnected today, almost as if something else was holding his attention.

"Are you all right, Lawk? You seem awfully detached right now," I placed my arm over his shoulder and moved in closer to his face. I stared at him intently, worried.

"It's nothing. I've just been having trouble at home. No big deal. I had to go away for a while. I…I just had to go away."

I swallowed hard, afraid to scare him off should I continue pestering him. "So, uh, I do hope you enjoyed yourself at least." Lawk just stared, saying nothing and stuttering an "uh-huh". "Well, I'm glad you're back. I missed you." I wrapped both arms around him and gave a long, friendly hug, to which he responded happily. "Oh! By the way!" I opened my inventory and rummaged through it until I found the object of my desire. I revealed a parcel wrapped in green paper and gold ribbons. Lawk cocked his head in surprise.

"What's this?" he asked, accepting the large box.

"It's what I won in an even that night with Nami," I said, eager for him to open it. "Come on, open it already."

He did just that and, just like Nami, was illuminated in a bright light. When he returned, he bore two large, black angel wings. His smile was tremendously heartwarming. "Oh, Navel…" He began sobbing and I could tell he was very happy. "I love them! Thank you!" He gave me another hug and nestled his head between my neck and shoulder.

"Uh," I blushed, smiling as he held on to me. "I've got an idea. Would you like to go look for a legendary item?"

"Oh yeah, definitely!" He stood up and winked. "Lawk the Protector's always on for an item hunt. Where to?"

"Someplace called Detestable, Haunted, Mansion. Over on the Lambda server." We ran back up to the Chaos Gate once more and summoned Gardenia. She arrived shortly after and we gated to Carmina Gadelica. We purchased necessities and traded with various players, until we were satisfied with equipment. Gardenia compliment Lawk on his wings, and she told me that what I had done was real nice. We left afterwards and arrived at the field, ready to find that legendary item.

**CC. Corp Online Offices, ********Server**

"Something is terribly wrong going on in Lambda…" said Daybreak, his head resting in his hands. The others nodded in agreement, looking to the head of the table for a rebuttal.

"There is no arguing with it, I'm afraid," said Lady Rain, her eyes concentrating hard at documents illuminated on hovering screens laid out before her on the table. "The increasing number of Twilight Guardians in Carmina Gadelica is troubling, indeed. When I spoke with Lady Beatrix of the Amber Knights she had no comment. She wouldn't even tell me what they were doing to limit the number of attacks on normal players. I have reported this matter to upper management and await their guidance."

A stout woman down the row clapped her hands in excitement. "Maybe it is some sort of event she's cooking up? Not impossible, am I right?"

"That is not the case. Had it been an event, Beatrix would have announced one. And besides, these beasts are attacking players. There are seven more incidents of people falling unconscious after a battle with the creatures. They have all woken up within twenty-four hours of the encounter, so it is not as bad as the last time. However, it is still serious."

Daybreak raised his head to meet Lady Rain's eyes. "What was the name of that Wavemaster who first encountered—"

"He will be of no help to us," she retorted bluntly, growling. "I spoke to him personally. Navel knows nothing."

Golden rings came and went as someone new entered, and took his place next to Daybreak. "Did I miss anything?" said the man. He wore black armor and carried a long, ebony blade that looked like a massive dragon's tooth. His skin was the color of sand.

"Ah, Knemysis," said Lady Rain, nodding her head in welcome. "So good of you to join us. I see you neglected to bring an entourage of the Onyx Knights with you from Omega."

"I do not need support; I will not be bullied by some stupid-looking creatures in a video game," he said, cringing. "They've attacked Lia Fail, by the way."

There was a short confusion of voices after that last remark, and Lady Rain had to slam her fist down hard to get their attention. "This is not good!" she spat, growling in anger. "First Lambda, now Omega. When will this matter end?" she cried, hitting the table continuously. When it subsided, she continued. "We need to speak with Beatrix. Not in the open, but somewhere like this."

Daybreak chimed in. "But she will not cooperate; she is too busy hosting that event, trying to get people to find some legendary item."

"What do you suppose we do, then?" said the Sigma server's representative. "Personally, I do not believe she has had anything to do with these occurrences. You all seem to think so, but I refuse. I absolutely refuse."

"Rhiannon," started Daybreak.

"No. Let her refuse," chided Lady Rain. "The higher up it is dropped, the harder the fall will be. She will learn to not trust everybody the way she does soon enough. Lady Beatrix is, as of right now, an enemy of CC corp. But until we can bring enough evidence to upper management…she's still got a job."

"Why not just ask the Ultimate AI," said Knemysis, stroking his chin. "I'm sure she's omnipotent enough to find out."

"We have no power to get in contact with her until upper management deems it is necessary. And, without proof, it's not possible."

"What will we do, then?" said Daybreak.

"We gather information. Meeting adjourned."

**Λ******** Detestable, Haunted, Mansion**

The place was packed with Amber Knights, standing here and there, monitoring the players as they went about their business. Lady Beatrix stood by the entrance to the dungeon, blocking its path. Another player stood beside her, a large silken hood draped over his face. Only visible was his crooked smile. He leaned up against the side of the large mansion with his arms folded. Beatrix's face looked as if she were not too happy being here, and the man knew it.

Lawk, Gardenia and I watched as people were jumping over one another, trying to be the first ones to find the treasure. I grabbed Lawk's hand and we headed up to Lady Beatrix.

"Hi there," I said politely. "I'm Navel, this is Lawk and Gardenia. We're here to participate in the event. Where do we register?" The man at her side perked up and raised his hood slightly, just so that he could see us.

"Ah, Navel…from the Carmina event, right? Welcome back." She sighed heavily, a large frown setting in on her face. "I'm not sure that this item is here anymore, but—like everybody else—you're free to search to your heart's content."

Lawk looked behind her, to the door she guarded. "Why can we not enter the mansion?" He teetered on the balls of his feet, rolling his eyes to the beat of silent music.

"That area is filled with dumbbell beasts, we cannot allow--"

"That's all right, Beatrix," said the hooded man. He stepped forward and gave a majestic bow, careful to keep his delicate hair from touching the ground this time. "Wavemaster Navel. Wavemaster Lawk. Pole Arm Gardenia. It is your lucky day, as you are the fiftieth party to enter this field. You are eligible to enter the mansion at your own risk."

Beatrix tilted her head, shocked. "Locke, what are you talking about. That place is swarming with infection!" He merely chuckled, ignoring her. Lawk and I glanced at each other.

"No, Beatrix. That was what I told all of the other players so that they wouldn't go in. It's perfectly fine in there."

"Well, why didn't you just say so before?" said Lawk, impatient. I stood there, pondering why the man would lie like this, thinking it awfully strange. And I said so.

"Why would you want the fiftieth arrival to be allowed to enter?" I asked, skeptical.

"Well, naturally, because I am waiting for the right party to find this treasure. And I am a devout believer in fate. I had a vision that the fiftieth arrival would be the one to find this item, and bring about a new peace in The World."

_What a strange man,_ I thought, and we proceeded into the dungeon.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Demosthenes sat in the center of the large, circular room, working hard on an invisible keyboard. Macha hovered upside down nearby, watching with slight interest. It floated around, circling her, studying her every movement. When Demosthenes became frustrated, she would pull out her wand and attack the cat, until it disappeared. But Macha would always come back, curious as ever.

"Stupid vagrants," she seethed, continuing her work. "Locke," she called, and waited for him to appear. When he did he approached her slowly, apprehensively.

"All is going according to plan. The Wavemaster, Lawk, has returned to The World."

"Good. He removed the amulet, however…"

"The virus has already spread into the avatar, so everything's fine." Locke stepped to the woman's side to see what she was working on. "How is our guest? Quite uncomfortable, I'm sure?"

Demosthenes only beamed with malicious excitement. "She is having trouble working out the kinks in the bindings. By the time she logs out, we will have discovered her location. Helba will be at our mercy in no time, my love."

"Excellent. I'm still having difficulties with Beatrix. She absolutely refuses to get us an audience with Aura."

"Does she?" Demosthenes stood up, her large hat bobbing on her head. "Well, then. I'll just have to settle this little matter on my own, now won't I. Send her a message telling her to meet you at a random field here on Omega later on this afternoon. Is that clear? And I will deal with her myself."

Locke bowed and nodded, turning to leave. Macha's head stood before him now, his body upside down still. "Hello, Macha…" said Locke, shuddering at this slight scare. "Let's you and I go and get our Wavemaster, all right? He's ripe for the taking."

Demosthenes stopped him and pointed at him gravely. "I want him comatose, not dead. So do not screw it up. We need him out longer than twenty-four hours, so we can find out how Harald did it. I will not wait any longer. Initiate the Hama Program, immediately."

"Right. Let's go, Macha."

**Λ******** Detestable, Haunted, Mansion**

The mansion was old and musty; the red wallpaper was warped and crumbling, peeling off at odd corners. Gardenia was infatuated with the amount of detail put into the place; Lawk was just excited to be looking for a legendary item. I was happy to be with Lawk.

"So if we're going to find this item," said Gardenia, looking around. "We will have to split up." She pulled out her trident and spun it in the air. "And we meet up back here in an hour, near the entrance. Sound good?" We both nodded. Gardenia ran down the hall and entered the labyrinth-like basement. Lawk took the main floor and I decided to head upstairs.

The floor creaked below my feet and I jumped at every slight commotion nearby. Pulling out my staff, I used it as a sort of blind man's stick to feel around in the darker areas. I peeked into a room with the door half opened and stepped inside. Other than a bed to the left, a wardrobe nearby and a small desk, the room was bare. I targeted the desk and rummaged through each individual door, finding nothing important except for maybe a Christmas Card.

I traveled down the long hallway once more, and discovered a second flight of stairs. They twisted around in a spiral, and were covered in cobwebs. I grabbed onto the railing and climbed the rickety structure, reaching the massive attic. A large window sat at the end of the room, as if this used to be a chapel. A dais lay before it, a broken statue resting on its side. I knelt before it and picked up the head, revealing the face of a goddess. I set it back down gently and explored the rest of the attic.

Through treasure chests, moldy wardrobes and dank boxes, I poked around, without so much as a clue to what or where this legendary item was. After a while, I heard a piercing cry of anguish from the main floor. Quickly I dashed out of the room and fell into a disabled pitfall, which dropped me into the main floor's kitchen room. I cleared myself out of the rubble and went to investigate the scream. When I entered the drawing room I saw Lawk in a gel-like snare. The tendrils were attached to a large, dumbbell-like being, which roared upon my arrival.

"Lawk!" I cried, running at the beast and striking it with my staff. "Gardenia! Gardenia!" I yelled, still pummeling the creature to no effect.

"Navel…I didn't think I'd actually lose to this thing. Guess I was wrong, eh?" he feigned a laugh and continued to struggle, the dumbbell's grasp only tightening.

"Lawk, I want you to log off right now!" I ordered, casting an array of spells.

"I can't. I'm trying to get out of this…Let me try, please?"

"Lawk, no! Log off, now! Please!"

"No, I need to try, or else I can't prove I was able to—" he stopped again, and lit up. A bright light replaced him and the Guardian, and I heard the ear-splitting cry of pain once more.

"LAWK!!!"

When the light dissipated I saw the monster still holding Lawk's lifeless body. It began to release its tendrils, and disappeared. The gray form of Lawk went along with it, into the void of nothingness. Gardenia appeared in the doorway across the room, in time to see this happen. "What…what happened?"

I stared wide-eyed at the former battlefield and fell to my knees. Staring up at the sky I saw dust flying around, disturbed by what had just happened. I held up my hands and caught some of it, sobbing behind my FMD. "Lawk!"

Gardenia looked around and spotted Lawk's staff on the ground near a stack of boxes. She walked over and picked it up. She returned to me and set it down. "I think he'll like this when he returns…"

I wiped some tears away, my hands sweaty from gripping the controllers. When I opened my eyes again I saw a cat sitting in front of me, holding Lawk's staff. Gardenia was as speechless as me, and we both watched as it floated around, smiling and speaking, with no words to follow. A man stepped into the room—_the man from outside_—and took the weapon from the feline's grasp.

"Now, now, Macha. We know it's not right to take what is not ours, don't we?" Macha twisted its head around, confused. "Navel, it was wrong of you and your friend to take that amulet from the little girl's dungeon," said Locke, smirking spitefully. "Just returned to take what was ours, my friend."

I stood up, and aimed my staff in the man's direction. "Then take it back!" I threw the trinket across the floor and the man only raised an eyebrow. "Where is Lawk!"

"No, I like this transaction much better. Goes along with my plan. Thanks a bunch, kid. Macha, let's go." He and the cat disappeared through a broken Chaos Gate that appeared behind them. When they passed through it broke down and toppled over. Gardenia grabbed onto my sleeve and pulled me out of the mansion.

Beatrix put a halt on her conversation with a knight nearby and ran over to us, her face wide with curiosity. "Did you find it?" she asked frantically, kneeling before me. Gardenia put distance between Beatrix and I with her trident.

"Step away, you licentious howler! It was you and your cronies who are to blame for this whole outbreak! Stand back!"

The Lady merely angled her head in bafflement. "It was not my intention to—"

I stood up and struck her hard with my staff, knocking her to the ground. "Don't talk!" I shouted, thrusting the base down to her chest, pinning her there. "You did something to Lawk. You and your knights! What did you do to him!" Beatrix merely grunted, trying to move the weapon off of her.

"Navel," whispered Gardenia, a solemn look on her face. "Don't worry. He'll be all right. Now, let me deal with her…" I stepped back, falling backwards onto my rear, staring angrily into the grass. She addressed Beatrix, her trident aimed now at her. "I have heard of your great skill with the sword. Care to test it against a Pole Arm's facility with a trident? I mean, you have tarnished your reputation as Keeper of Order. I have a right to challenge you, seeing as you are now the villain."

Beatrix lifted her head and nodded curtly. "I never back down from a challenge," she said. "For I've never met anyone who presented one to me. And you are right. I deserve whatever comes of this battle." She bowed shallowly, a glum look about her face.

Soon Beatrix's blade met the wickedly crafted trident with a grinding scream of metal on metal. Gardenia was alternately light as a feather and heavy as a millstone. She seemed capable of changing her weight to suit her needs in battle. Beatrix slashed at her, full of grim determination. Gardenia continued to elude her blade, spinning and dancing away with the miraculous lightness of a fish leaping upstream. Her weapon whistled through the air and Beatrix parried jabs and slices effortlessly. She refused to become awestruck by Gardenia's nimbleness. She would fall to Beatrix's blade, just as every challenger before. She _had_ to, to prove that she was wrong in her assumption of Beatrix.

She stepped back an instant too late from the tip of the trident. She did not know it until she heard gasps of spectators and saw her opponent's flowing dance halt abruptly. Beatrix saw that her own avatar was in searing pain an instant later. She never lost her feet despite the agony beating in her skull. The Pole Arm lowered her weapon, eyes wide with pity.

Beatrix screamed and struck lightning-quick with her sword. She cut Gardenia or clumsily battered her with the flat of her blade. It was all the same to her. She landed blows so quickly that they fell like rain, like the blood and fluids leaking down her face. She hacked Gardenia's graceful body, closing in on her so that her trident was useless.

She crumpled at Beatrix's feet like a sack of grain, all of her elegant motion halted in an instant. In terror, fury and pain, Beatrix dropped her sword from weakening fingers and fell on her with her fists until the Amber Knights dragged her from Gardenia's bruised and bleeding body.

"PhaGan Rom!" I cried, striking Beatrix down with a sweep of earthly magic. She disappeared in an explosion of dirt and rock. I ran to Gardenia and healed her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI: Dying Amber**

**Palace Carmina, Λ Server**

"Why are we so fidgety, Lady?" Locke asked. She shuddered. How had she neglected to hear him approaching?

"Fidgety?" she said, calmly polishing her sword.

"I've seen you pacing the empty fields at dusk, tossing your hair and glaring into the rain, killing monsters effortlessly with your mighty blade. It is a beautiful sight, but I suspect the reason for your unrest is that you feel sorry for what happened. Is that it? Come on, you're Beatrix of Carmina Gadelica, the best swordsman—woman—in all of The World."

"What do you want from me? I gave you the opportunity to take the Wavemaster. You got him, now I want to be left alone."

"Ah, but your work is still unfinished." He paced forward, two soldiers blocking his path with halberds. He touched them both on the foreheads and they fell over backwards, gray heaps of dead metal. "You need to get in touch with Aura—"

"What did you do to that Wavemaster, Locke!?" She stepped off of her throne and held her sword at him viciously. "I looked into it and he has been in the hospital for several days now. Far longer than the usual time. What happened!?"

Locke backed up, pulling out his Red Wand. "He is just an experiment, my dear Rose. We needed him so that we could study the process of how to enter The World. We needed a test subject before trying it out on ourselves, no?"

"But on a boy? He is only seventeen, damn it! How could you?" She gripped her sword tightly and stabbed the marble floor hard.

"It was necessary, my love. It is not my fault that he is the one who found and completed our false event, becoming infected with our virus. He was chosen by The World."

"I will have nothing to do with this, Locke. I shall deal with you now, once and for all."

"You wish to join _me_ in combat?" Locke laughed richly, and Beatrix tossed her glossy brown curls away from her face. "Very well. I accept, but doubt you will prove much of a challenge." Beatrix seethed and readied herself before her slim, effeminate challenger.

"Where do you suggest this duel take place?"

"Why, where else but at the scene of your next great triumph, my lady?" asked Locke dramatically, sweeping out both of his arms and throwing back his head. His silver eyes crackled with energy in a most alarming manner. Beatrix watched him and wondered for a moment: _perhaps he was not as weak and useless as he looks_.

"My next great triumph?" she shook her head. "You don't mean Mac Anu, do you? Why should I consider defeating my old comrades a triumph? The greatest of their faction is no match for me; even with your powers, my knights could rid the city of its pestilence in less than an hour." She frowned. She knew that this was a poor defensive stance to take since siege so far had been put off. Locke was mocking her by calling it her triumph. It would be his, naturally. She wanted no more part in it.

Locke stepped closer to her, so close that she could see every detail on his face perfectly. She stepped back, bumping into a standing torch. "Do not underestimate your opponents, Rose," he said softly. "It would be a pity to see you damaged because of carelessness." He stroked her hair, twining one of her curls about his finger. Her face burned. To be forced to submit to this indignity was unforgivable. She slapped him and he staggered back, holding his cheek. For a moment his eyes were dark with hate, but then he smiled.

"My rose is truly a thorny one indeed. At midnight, Beatrix, I will meet you in the Aqua Capital. The full moon should light the battlefield for us."

"Melodramatic, as always," she muttered. Locke flipped his hair and his robes swirled as he opened up another broken Chaos Gate.

"You could use some drama in your life, Rose," he said, with a twinkling chuckle, and stepped through.

**Najiyumoru Hospital, Tokyo, Japan**

When Gardenia says that she is going to do something, she means it. The player behind her, Izumi Fujiyo, appeared on my doorstep six days after Lawk fell unconscious. Seeing as I had no car, my sister was away with my parents, and I had no friends close enough to take me besides her, she drove me into Toyko to see Miki. We lingered patiently in the waiting room until we were allowed to see him.

He looked like he was a cyborg, attached from head to toe with wires and fluid packs. I sat at his side, examining the face I had never known before. Izumi sat on his other side, holding onto his hand gingerly. I dropped my head onto his stomach and kept it there for a while, talking to him quietly as he breathed in and out, hoping that my voice would knock him back to reality.

"Um…who are you?" said a woman at the door. She had a large blue shawl draped over her, and tissues covering her face, as she was crying profusely.

"I'm Nav—Shiro, Shiro Nayamura, a friend of Miki's…And this is Izumi—also Miki's friend," I said, stuttering terribly. I raised my head to peer at the woman and stood up, approaching her cautiously. "You must be his mother, am I right?"

The woman shook her head, blowing her nose. "I am his aunt. His mother could not get off work to see him today…and his father, well, never mind."

I bowed to the woman and walked back to my seat. "May I ask you something?" I ventured a trite attempt to learn what Lawk would not tell me. When she approved, I continued. "Is his home life going all right? He did not tell me much, but I worry."

The aunt sat down on a bench standing opposite the bed. She pulled out more tissues from her purse and clutched them tight. "Well, that is very personal…and I do not know much. All I know is that I have tried to gain custody of him for several years now. He is seventeen, so he could leave at any time…but he will not…"

That was all I could get from the woman. Any endeavor to obtain any new information only led to more tears from the weeping woman. Izumi stepped up beside her and consoled her, rubbing the woman's back and letting her fall asleep on her shoulder. I grabbed Miki's hand and held on, drifting off to sleep.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

It was midnight. Beatrix buckled her sword belt and stood before two Pole Arms near the Chaos Gate. They were females who, at first glance seemed normal but, when closer, could see that they had the faces of two inebriates enjoying a night on the town.

"Relena. Katya. I am going at this by myself, is that understood? Should Dark Angel arrive, do not allow him past you. He will attempt to cease the battle the moment he sees it."

"Yes, Mistress Beatrix. We shall not allow him through." Katya had a Russian accent, slightly off since she was drunk. "I should like to put in my opinion, as well…"

Relena grabbed the Russian and shoved her aside, standing before Beatrix now. "Mistress," she said in British English, dropping to her knees and holding her hands up to pray. "We can not let you fight that wicked man. He is too powerful, and he gives us the creeps." Katya kicked Relena out of the way and took her place once more. "What she said!"

Beatrix merely shook her head, smiling. "I know how to handle a simple fool, my friends. You just worry about keeping DA away from the Square." They saluted and readied their halberds, moving over to the Chaos Gate.

As she strode haughtily through town, drawing out her blade, people stopped what they were doing, to witness the sight of the Knight-in-Question. They watched from afar, following her to the central dais at the Town Square. When she stepped onto the platform she jumped back at the sight of a broken green Chaos Gate materializing across from her.

Golden rings heralded Locke's presence in Mac Anu, and people gazed, wide-eyed, at the man and Beatrix. Locke drew out the Red Wand, which made some in the crowd to gasp, as if they had seen it before. Beatrix gripped her sword with both hands, holding it before her face, readying herself for battle. "Locke," she seethed, gritting her teeth. "This day I shall eliminate you, and make you wish you had not tried manipulating me."

"Oh, Rose…you wound me so. After all I have done for you. I gave you ultimate power; I made you feared—"

"At the cost of a young boy's health, Locke! I did not wish for any part in that, none at all! How can you ever justify something so...inhuman!?"

He ignored her for a moment, thinking about how best to answer her question. "Because, my Rose, I have told you. Demosthenes and I were not meant for that petty world out there. We were meant for greatness, here, in The World."

"Not anymore. I will not let you continue hurting people for your own personal gain. It's not right! You may have seduced me before, but never again!"

I arrived to a commotion leading to the back of town. Nami stood at the Chaos Gate, apparently waiting for someone.

"Hi, Navel," she said, a faint smile on her face as she waved. "How is he?"

I lowered my head in shame. "Still comatose. Critical condition. I…I should have done something more to stop this from happening." Another person appeared before Nami, a girl in a blue kimono with green hair. She carried a white and red fan, and waved it briskly in front of her face. One of the new classes in The World: a Dancer. "Oh. Hey, Ryoko," I said, walking over and bowing. "Could I join your party—that is, if you do not have a third member already?"

Ryoko smiled at me and elbowed Nami. "Sure you can," said Nami, tapping the hilt of her blade. "I want to go check out the battle in the Square—before we do anything—if that's all right with you two."

Neither of us argued and followed her to the back of town. Light was bouncing off every corner of the dais, and two people were in the middle of the fray. _Beatrix!_ I cried, glaring her down. _And…that man, from the mansion!_ I stood there, awestruck by what I was seeing. _I thought these two were in cahoots with one another?_

Beatrix shuddered as the platform beneath them began cracking and the hairs on her body stood on end. She watched the balls of shifting light pulse between Locke's hands. It was so beautiful. Though she detested admitting this, he was beautiful with the pink and purple light washing delicately across his smooth, sharp features that could have been carved out of marble—no, ivory…soap stone? Definitely something more fragile...But no matter. He was deadly.

Beatrix's magics were powerful, but they were designed to flow outward from her sword and, even if they were made to hit multiple targets, all of them had faces. Beatrix would have to see the consequences of her power wrought on victims in their battered, bleeding bodies because they would always be but a swords-length away.

Locke's magics were faceless. They could strike multitudes. Made not for honorable combat, instead they were used to wipe out villages with a negligent flick of the wrist, to decimate the populations of cities, blur the faces until there was nothing but streaks of blood to be washed off his immaculate silk robes.

She thought perhaps that she was dueling with Death himself. What had she welcomed into her bosom? A viper to sink its fangs into the flesh of The World, once it was through with poisoning its foes.

Locke smiled at her, his lips the color of violet petals in the light of a spell he caressed between his hands. The glow extended to limn the walls of the surrounding buildings, their iron fretworks gleaming purple sparks, the damp stones glistening lavender drops and the lush growths of vine blossoming with pink and indigo glimmers…as though they had suddenly blossomed.

"Having second thoughts?" he asked slyly.

"Never," she responded, rushing towards him with her sword extended. She managed to strike him before the spell burst; her character began oozing blood from different wounds that seemed to come out of nowhere. She drank down a healing potion quickly before neurological injury set in and she was no longer able to save herself.

Beatrix balanced carefully on her toes, cautious of her footing on the slick grass. She unleashed a fury of magic sword maneuvers. Again and again Locke countered with illegal powers. As Beatrix's SP waned, she began conserving it to use for only healing.

Locke was still lit by the awesome pink glow of his power that seeped from between his palms. His robes were damp with blood, but he continued to heal himself and showed no signs that his magic was weakening.

Beatrix's eyesight was damaging from the repeated illumination. She felt her insides churn at the fear of becoming blind. Her sword slipped between her fingers and fell with a muffled thud onto the rain-slick grass. Her scream echoed against the stone walls and she cast one of her strongest spells in a flash of brilliant, holy white light.

Locke was nowhere to be found in the blinding light, and the crowd fell silent. Another light fused with the white one, transferring it to gold. There was a loud moan from within the fray, and then a loud cry. I recognized that shriek of terror immediately: Beatrix had been attacked by a dumbbell.

When the area cleared up, Locke stood before a black circle of charred stone. Another was at his side, but it was not Beatrix. This woman had a large witch's hat, and wore a meager excuse for a bikini. She had her arms draped over Locke's shoulders, and her head leaning up against his. She raised her hand and the air beside them ripped open, revealing a wavy rift. She prodded the man through and followed behind, laughing wildly.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Beatrix woke up to Locke's face looming over hers; she watched the other woman place her hand on Beatrix's chest, and saw glowing wings, and an angel unfurl over her body, then vanish. She had died, and was resurrected. She'd grown weak without a worthy challenger to test her metal. Locke stayed there, leaning over her. Beatrix was too weak to shove him away, too weak even to scream; she was, perhaps, too weak to even feel fear. She should have been afraid; fear was not the mark of a coward but of a sensible person. Clearly she had lost her senses.

Locke's attenuated fingers brushed across her breasts as he drove them up to frame her face. They rested there like strange white roots, startling and feeble-looking above the ground although they were, in truth, strong enough to crack solid stone, given enough time to do their dark quiet work beneath the dirt. _He could do it now; he could crush her face with those hands_, Beatrix thought with a thrill. Her heart ached in her chest from being mended so often in a short period of time. Her body was not accustomed to hard use. She was softer and whiter than those hands. It was fitting that she would die like this, trapped in The World and beaten down at the hands of a deceptively weak-seeming man.

Locke's face filled her vision, his lips and eyelashes brushing her skin as light and soft as air. Her newly mended nerves were sensitive to even such infinitesimal touches. Locke knew. He had broken enough people to know how even his softest taps were excruciating now, she imagined.

"Why don't you kill me?" she whispered in his ear as he gathered her in his arms.

"I would sooner crush a rose in my fist," he replied. "thorns and all, Beautiful Rose," he continued, tracing her upper lip with a finger. "I would keep you whole and train you to climb trellises for my garden. The World will be my garden and you shall be my rose, won't you?"

Demosthenes sat quietly through this whole ordeal, snickering quietly as Locke played. When Beatrix lost consciousness once more, she let out a loud laugh. "Don't tell me you're growing feelings for this pretty little rose, darling…no pun intended, I promise you."

Locke settled the woman on the floor in the center of the room, and eyed Demosthenes. "Of course not. We still need her to get us in contact with Aura, you know. Oh, that reminds me, has the Wavemaster woken up yet?" She nodded and he smiled. "Well, it seems that we have two test subjects now, as Beatrix just had to join me in combat…and you know I take losing very seriously. Had she won back there I would have lost all of this data I gathered." Chuckling, he glared down at Beatrix, his eyes cold as stone. "It seems she took a pretty beating from the Wavemaster's two comrades earlier."

"Oh really?" she ventured, inching closer. "Is that right?"

"Quite right. They did not take too well to the Guardian attacking the boy. Especially the other Wavemaster. You should have heard him crying behind his speakers. It was rich, I tell you. Rich!" Demosthenes sneered at this, and stood over Beatrix's body.

"Very well, Locke. I am going to go and speak with Lawk, and study him a bit. You stay here and work on getting in touch with Aura."

"As you command."

"Yes, as _I_ command. Morganna will not wait for long, you know. Do it now."

**Σ: Bursting, Solitary, Fertile Land**

It had been three days since the Midnight showdown in Mac Anu. Emerald Knights were everywhere now, guarding each and every post they could without getting in anybody's way. Nobody had seen Beatrix since that night, nor the strange man and woman. It had been posted on the BBS that Beatrix's player had fallen unconscious during game play and had not woken since.

Gardenia and I had finished killing a headless witch when she just stopped suddenly. "Damnit!" she cried, stabbing her spear into the ground. "Just…damn it all, Navel!"

"What's up?"

"This is not how I like to enjoy the game, you know…people going into comas, bad things happening in The World, everything else. I've seen it all before. It gets old after a while."

I had remembered Gardenia telling us once that she had been a member of the dot hackers a couple years ago, when a Twinblade character named Kite saved The World from an unknown entity posing as the Abominable Wave from the _Epitaph_. The being raised eight creatures, known as Phases, to corrupt and destroy the game, all in search of the Ultimate AI, Aura. Gardenia was not a very active player in the dot hackers, but she knew a lot by talking with Kite and witnessing the final event.

"Are you thinking about quitting The World?" I asked, and then wished I hadn't.

She pondered about that for a moment, smirking and questioning it. "I don't know, Navel. I have thought about it for quite some time. But every time it comes up, I think about you and our friends. And some of my friends—you being one of my best—I do not think I could live without. No, I will not quit the game, but I really ought to take some time off. This old lady's got a lot on her plate."

"Hah…old…You're not _that_ old yet. But hey, before you take time off, let's continue on through this dungeon, all right?" She nodded and pulled her spear up over her shoulder and we started our long run through the jungle and into the crypt-like maze.

The catacombs were filled with contamination. Data flew here and there; pieces of objects and walls were crumbling, revealing the digital codes the programmers used to make them. The dumbbells were causing a lot of trouble, but, according to Gardenia, not as much as the Phases did.

I remembered that year. Unnatural phenomena was not restricted to just the online world. The outside was also being affected by the "Wave". It was terrible. My mother and I were trapped on a subway bus one day during the Twilight Incident, and high-pitched music notes played over the radio. It was terrible. I thought that being trapped underground was the worst thing in the world. However, when looking back to Lawk's player in the hospital, trapped in a coma, well, that was the worst thing in the world—my world.

"Basic formation!" shot Gardenia, blocking an attack and reflecting it off her spear. A large rhinoceros-like beast roared, charging us down with its long, crystalline horn, its bat-like wings allowing it to hover slightly in the air. I used my summoning magic to give us some extra help, but being a Wavemaster, I was not nearly powerful enough. I resorted to casting regular spells. Gardenia resorted to magical spear attacks.

When the beast fell, it went down hard. The dungeon rumbled beneath its crushing weight, and I jogged over to its lifeless body, as a treasure chest took its place. Opening it I found a Jaggedagger, a strange set of daggers, used by Twinblades. I handed it off to Gardenia to sell for later, and we continued on into the dungeon.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Lawk scrunched his nose at the smell of rotten bog water. He sat up from his place in the center of a large circular room. It was mostly empty, save for him, a flight of stairs going up and down and two large double doors. He walked over to the doors and opened one of them. The foul stench of the marsh below grew stronger as he stepped out onto the balcony. As he took in his surroundings, he noticed that his senses were heightened…not only that, but they were active in The World! He had no idea what happened since the day he was attacked. When he woke up, he was here, that was all he knew.

Someone was sitting on the railing across from him, waving a wand around carelessly. She turned when he stepped on a pebble and it crunched beneath his foot.

"Ah, Lawk, dear. You're finally awake. When you came to earlier I tried speaking to you, but poor thing…you passed out again. It is nice to finally meet you. I am Demosthenes."

Lawk stopped and gazed at his right hand, noting how the wind touched it. "Are you…are you in the same position as me?" he asked shyly, stepping up slowly to her side. "Are you, you know, in The World?"

Demosthenes stared up at the broken night sky, her eyes glistening. "No, Lawk, I'm afraid I am not," she turned to him, a manic expression painted on her face. "But that is where you come in, isn't it?" Lawk furrowed his brow, confused. "Yes. You are trapped here, in The World. You will be our project, Lawk the Protector."

"P…project?"

"Yes. You see…an associate of mine and I have been working on entering The World, as you are right now. Our goal is to enter fully, so that we can dump away our bodies on the outside. If you were to die right now, out there in the real world, you would perish here, as well. Your consciousness is trapped, while it is still attached to your body. We are going to fix that, my friend. When we have gathered enough information and done some tests, we will return you to that place you once knew."

Lawk scratched his head. "So, what, you're using me for something? Why? Why do you want to "enter The World"?"

"It is quite simple, my love. Once we are, and have full control over it, we will never have to return to that dull place you call home."

"But you can't do that," he said, feeling sad for them. "What would happen if the net worldwide shut down one day, you would die. And I don't even think what you're trying to do is possible…"

"We brought you here, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but…"

"And we brought Beatrix—"

"You did it to someone else, too?"

Locke walked in on their conversation dragging Beatrix along behind. "We have a meeting with the Ultimate AI in four hours," he said, pushing Beatrix forward. "It took some…persuasion, but she's finally done it."

"Ah. Excellent, Locke. Lawk, I would like you to meet my associate, Locke. He will be taking care of you and Beatrix while I work on testing. By the way, Locke, I have the Morganna Program up and ready for when we meet Aura. We'll need a body, however, since last time she was too unstable."

Beatrix drew out her sword and aimed it at Demosthenes. "So _that_ is your plan, to revive Morganna! You can't! Don't you know what will happen!? She will _destroy_ Aura _and_ The World in her anger!"

"Silence her," said Demosthenes. Locke touched her with the end of his wand and a jolt of electricity shot into her spine, knocking her unconscious. Lawk stared in disbelief, getting worried. "Project Hama is active and waiting."

"Excellent," said Locke, looking down at Beatrix's body, staring in wonder. "I shall go and wait."

"You'll never do such a terrible thing!" cried Lawk, grabbing onto Demosthenes's arm, tugging and kicking. "I won't let you! Let us out of here," he shouted, over and over. "Navel is going to kill you if you don't let us go, now!"

"Will he?" said Demosthenes, smiling. "That's a nice thought, dear, but _no one_ is going to save you. That pesky Wavemaster is no match for us."

"You doubt his powers," Lawk yelled indignantly. "He will never break his promise to me!"

"Promise? How deliciously absurd. How on earth is he going to rescue you?"

"His secret weapon: persistence!"

"Enough!" she struck him with her staff and he fell unconscious. "I'll just have to monitor him then, won't I?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII: Morganna**

**Λ Server Root Town, Carmina Gadelica**

Two women, clothed in armored blue and green river dancing dresses and carrying halberds saluted upon the arrival of a fairly handsome knight in black armor, red lining and large black wings. His onyx hair swayed in the wind.

"Katya. Relena," said the man, gesturing his hands for them to come over to him. "I need each of you to head over to Mac Anu and Dun Loireag for me. It is of the utmost importance at this time."

Relena nodded, but Katya was confused. "Why us, DA? You're filling in for Mistress Beatrix. You have contact with the leaders. Why do we need to do your work?"

Dark Angel slapped himself in the face, exhausted and frustrated. "Because I need to find out what _happened_ to Beatrix, and, to do that…I have to go out alone. Do you understand?" Finally Katya nodded and the two women turned to the Chaos Gate.

"Oh, and one more thing," he said, dropping to one knee and saluting. "Do not mention this to Rain or the others: I am going to Net Slum to speak with a hacker called Helba. She is said to carry vast information unavailable to normal players. It is imperative that none of the others find out. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sure."

"…Good." Dark Angel watched as they gated out and went on his way. "I hope Beatrix did not do anything stupid…"

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Locke stood out on the sludge in the marshes, his wand out and ready for combat. He turned up and saw Demosthenes high above, looking out off the balcony. He nodded at her, and she nodded back. In several minutes Aura would arrive, and they would finally get their wish.

When Aura did come, however, she was not too pleased with what she saw. The girl was cloaked in a radiant white light, a long, flowing purple dress and a lighter shawl. Her basic color scheme was purple and white, with mixtures of light and dark. Tears poured down her cheeks like rivers, and she held out her hands, longing for the beauty that had died in this realm to return.

"Aura," called Locke, fascinated by the girl's beauty. "Welcome."

"What has happened here?" said the Chosen One, hovering in the air ahead of him.

"Corruption."

"But why? How did this happen?" She lowered herself and placed a finger in the bubbling, oozing waters. When they connected, the water suddenly purified, turning from a vomit green into a clear crystal. Locke grimaced at this and held up his wand. The girl's eyes widened. "Skeith," she breathed, backing up.

"Yes, Skeith. It is time for the reunification of The World and its rightful master!" He raised his wand to Aura and shouted, "Data Drain!" The girl dared to escape, which angered Locke. He fired at her again, and she dodged it perfectly. He tapped the wand on the water's surface and the sound of a bell could be heard, ringing all around the field. Aura grabbed her head and covered her ears, lowering to the ground as the bell kept ringing and ringing, a deafening noise in her mind. Once again Locke attempted to attack her, this time succeeding. She cried in horror as streams of data oozed from her body. When he had finished she fell to the pool and disappeared.

"She escaped…" seethed Locke. Demosthenes appeared behind him, glaring. "But I got what we needed." Instead of strangling him she hugged him tight, and brought him back up into the tower.

"Yes! Good!" she cried, jumping up and down enthusiastically. "Now for the final phase of our plan, Locke. We need another avatar, preferably a Pole Arm, if you can manage it. As I said, Morganna is going to need a body."

"Yes," he agreed. "I know of just the person, too." They shared a maniacal laugh and went their separate ways.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

"And if you call me that _one_ more time I will knock your teeth out and puke in your heart!"

"And what did he say?"

"He wanted a divorce."

I passed by as two people were having a laugh. When they saw me and recognized who I was, they jumped into my way. "Hiya," said one perky girl, a Blademaster. The other one, a Twinblade, jumped up beside her, giving me an awkward, flirty wave. "You're that guy, right?"

"—the one, that guy who won the Wave Event, am I correct?"

I nodded and rolled my eyes. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Didn't you ask for wings?" said the Blademaster, completely ignoring me. "I thought you got wings. Did you? Where are they?"

"No, stupid! He gave them to his brother, remember?"

"—actually, Lawk is _not_ my brother. He's a very special friend…"

"Special? Oh, I see."

"Where is he? I wanna see his wings! That Nami girl didn't have them either. She won some, didn't she?"

"Administrators exchanged them for some stupid feather-thing, didn't they? Yeah, they did."

As the two argued amongst themselves I tried passing, but they remembered I was there soon after. The Blademaster hopped up and down eagerly, like a dog in heat. "Will you go to the Valentine Event with us? It will be _soo_ much fun, we promise!"

"Well, I'm not sure what I'm doing right now, you see—"

"He's going with his boyfriend," whispered the Twinblade.

"No, actually. I'm not…I don't have one, and—well, I sort of do—he's not here right now. I'm actually looking for him as we speak. And every second you stand here, wasting my time, he is probably suffering."

"So will you go with us?"

"Yay!"

I continued on past them and headed down to the gondola station, and waited for the next passing boat. Two messages popped up on my screen showing me I had to Member Address invitations. I accepted them, allowing them the satisfaction of telling people that they knew me. I was not sure that, if they called, I would show up, but it amused me to no end. I stepped up to a merchant nearby who was selling house deeds. I looked through the list of what he had. I said no to the townhouse, cottage and manor. I saw that there was a nice mansion for sale down in the Town Square, fully furnished and everything. I purchased it for seventeen thousand GP and thanked the merchant kindly, and continued to wait for a boat.

When it stopped I slipped aboard and sat down. There were three other passengers, excluding the gondolier, talking softly in a small group. I sat far away, just so that I wouldn't interfere. The gondola pressed on, and we sailed quietly down through the many canals, enjoying the ride.

"So, will you attend the event with me tonight, BT?" said a Blademaster. He looked like a barbarian, the complete right side of his body painted blue. The other was clean. A white design of hexagons divided the paint and skin, making him look like two men fused together. He had fine brown hair, slicked back.

The woman he addressed, BT, wore an emerald green Wavemaster's robe and carried a long staff. Her corn yellow hair was decorated with a sort of tiara. "Of course I'll go, Bear. It's not every day that we go on dates in The World."

The third member of their happy circle, a tan Heavy Blade, dressed in crimson armor wielding a massive sword, chimed in at this, laughing hard. "What did you say!?" she said in a whiny voice. "Yes you do! You're always together! And you've got Tsukasa to thank for that." She smirked and folded her arms, grinning wickedly. The Wavemaster used her staff to shove the Heavy Blade off the side of the boat.

"Pest," said BT, chuckling quietly to herself.

"Now, BT, that wasn't very polite. Hold on, Mimiru, I'll get you out of there." He reached his long arms into the water, and attempted to reach the girl, failing miserably. I stood up, the boat rocking beneath my feet, and lowered my staff into the water.

"Uh…grab on," I called, and the Heavy Blade clutched on tight. Bear and I took hold of her as she inched closer and dragged her back on board.

"What was _that_!?" cried Mimiru, shaking the water out of her hair and pressing down the cloth on her armor, drying it off. "BT, you're not too kind…"

"Oh, I am kind, just—"

"Yeah, blah blah, pushover. I hear it all the time!" Mimiru harrumphed and turned away, staring at me now. "And what have we here?" she said, looking over my avatar more closely. "For a moment there, mister, I was about to call you Tsukasa." She giggled, and pointed at me. "Hey, Bear. Doesn't this guy look like Tsukasa?"

Bear removed his hand from BT's shoulder and stopped lecturing her to see what Mimiru wanted. "Hm? Oh, why yes. I suppose he does. Though Tsukasa doesn't wear green and brown."

"Still, it's a similar template."

"I agree. But look at the boy; I don't think we should be bothering him. He doesn't look very happy. I'm sorry, young man, for bothering you. Come along, Mimiru."

The girl sulked back to her original seat, glaring daggers at BT. "Oh…" I said, clutching my staff shyly. "It's all right. She's not bothering me."

BT tilted her head to get a better look. "Forgive me, but are you by any chance, Navel? The Wavemaster who was posted [Wanted!] a while back?"

"Now, BT, there you go, prying again—"

"Yes, that's me…" I lowered my head. _More fans?_

"Let me ask you, Mister Navel," _Mister?_ I thought, smiling behind my FMD. "How did you come about obtaining one of those Guardians?"

"Oh, I didn't get one, I was _attacked_ by it. I had originally thought that that Tsukasa guy saved me, up until the creatures began spawning everywhere. I was actually disappointed, to tell you the truth. I would have liked to meet him."

"I see. Well, Navel, that is very interesting. Are you planning on going to the Valentine Event this evening?" said Bear, studying my face. "I believe that our Mimiru has no date." He laughed at this joke, and Mimiru growled. "I'm only joking. But it would be nice to see you _not_ alone. I mean, I am going with BT, Subaru is taking Tsukasa, and you never seem to go with anyone."

"Except for Silver Knight that one time," teased BT, nudging Bear in the rib.

"Well, I was planning on going with someone…but they can not make it," I kept my head lowered, and did not elaborate further. "If she wants to, I'll go."

Mimiru folded her arms again, and clicked her tongue. "Anything but going with Silver Knight again. All he did was interrupt me to make sure Tsukasa was not touching Subaru inappropriately the whole evening…online."

I perked up at this, laughing with everyone else. I remembered the days of the Crimson Knights, a vigilante force that used to maintain the peace in The World several years ago. I had seen Lady Subaru and the Silver Knight once or twice on my way through town, and he was very protective.

"Then it's settled. Wavemaster Navel will go with Mimiru," said Bear, clapping his hand on the side of the boat. "Anyway, I have to get back to work. I will see you all later. Goodbye." We waved as he hopped off the boat and onto the side of the canal, and left for the Chaos Gate. Mimiru and BT looked uncomfortable together and stared at me.

"So," said Mimiru, glancing at me up and down again. "Are you a powerful Wavemaster?" I nodded, to which she clapped her hands excitedly. "Cool! One of my best friends is a powerful Wavemaster. You might meet him tonight, actually. But you apparently know of him already, don't you? Tsukasa." Again I nodded and opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off. "Can I ask why your date is not attending tonight? Sorry, I feel as if I'm—"

"Yes, you are being nosy," said BT, ready to force Mimiru off the boat again, but stopped suddenly, when I brushed the hair from my eyes and leaned forward.

"It's all right. She can ask. It's not like I've got anything to hide. And besides, if I can get it out to enough people, maybe CC corp. will get off their high horse and do something about it. My friend fell into a coma about two weeks ago, and, unlike the others, will not wake up…" The others could tell that I was upset by the way my voice was shaking. "There is something wrong with the system, and I think that those people are responsible…"

BT, a skeptic by nature, looked to me with her eyebrow raised. "Are you sure? Have you investigated?"

"I sat at his bedside," I said. "I held his hand. He is definitely comatose…and The World—or something in it—is at fault for this…"

"Well, that's not good," said Mimiru, who sounded like she understood. She told me about their past and about the player Tsukasa, and what had happened a couple years ago.

"I see. Nobody was ever informed of that," I noted sarcastically, knowing that CC corp. would never have said anything, just to keep player subscriptions to The World active. "That's terrible. So you know what it feels like, to have your best friend lost…"

"Well, no." said BT matter-of-factly. "Our Tsukasa was conscious here in the game. Whatever your friend is going through is different." She and Mimiru sent me their Member Addresses and stood up, disembarking the gondola. I followed them and accepted their invitations, smiling. "We'll keep in touch, Navel. I'll see what we can do for you."

I thanked them and they left. I paid the gondolier the riding fare of three GP and headed up to the Town Square, to explore the mansion I had purchased.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"Finally!" cried Demosthenes, staring breathlessly at a floating screen. Locke stepped up behind her, peeking over her shoulder.

"Something good?"

"Oh, simply the best, Locke." She stood and embraced him tightly, cackling. "I have found the link while searching through Harald's Black Box! Are you ready to join The World, my love?" She grinned, maximizing the window so Locke could see.

"I see. The neurological output goes…"

"You're not too good with the science in it, Locke. That's all right. That is why you have me. All right. We're done with those two, put them in a cell. I may have some use for them later."

"Right. So how exactly are we going to do this?"

"Drain Heart, my dearest. Drain Heart, plus a bit of this," she opened a window, showing him a detailed neuro-suit. "We need two of them, and put them on. We shall attach them to our FMDs and then have one of the Phase programs, probably Macha, use Drain Heart. It's perfect!"

"Good for you, Demosthenes. I've selected our candidate for Morganna's vessel. I am stalking right now, just to get a feel of when the right time to attack is."

"Right. Excellent work. Go get to it. I'm logging off so I can get to work on making those suits. I'll have to go shopping for supplies…damn it. Well, I'm too excited to be angry!" She acted like a happy schoolgirl, jumping up and down screaming. "Project Morganna, _activate!_"

A loud crack of thunder boomed throughout the swamp, the tower shaking violently. Out on the balcony Locke and Demosthenes saw the clouds coming together to create a large, hurricane-like cloud, with the eye looming directly over them. Lightning crackled and zoomed around on the bottom surface of the mammoth storm cloud, trembling with angry energy. A loud cry echoed throughout, and then a frightening laugh.

_"Hahahahahahahahahaha! It is so good to be back!"_ howled the entity, lightning bolts firing randomly and aimlessly into the field below. Locke had to pull Demosthenes out of the way so she would not get blown to pieces. The ledge where they had moved from was struck and blew apart, falling to the crystal clear water below with a loud thud.

"Morganna!" said Demosthenes in a loud, commanding voice. "You are under the command of the Twilight Twins. Calm down, I say!" The entity thundered once more and lightning gathered at the center of the eye, crackling with raw energy. The dead trees below began spontaneously combusting, and the water boiling.

_"Nobody commands The World,"_ boomed Morganna, laughing maniacally. _"Especially humans like you."_ She released the lighting from the hurricane's center, and it fired down fast on Demosthenes. She blocked it perfectly with her wand, and directed it back towards its maker. She waved her weapon in a circle, and a large magic circle lit up in the sky above Morganna, flashing once and then disappearing.

"I do," she said. "You are now paralyzed. I am your mistress, and you will be wise to do as I say!"

_"You will be very sorry when I am free,"_ Retorted Morganna.

"And who says you shall be free?" Locke asked, beaming at the storm. "It looks like we've got The World wrapped around our fingers."

_"For now…"_

**Λ Server Root Town, Carmina Gadelica**

The Midnight Metropolis was completely decorated for the festival of love. Flowers grew everywhere, little boats paddled around in the dark waters below, which was never allowed, and everything just seemed so overdone. I gated in and walked over to the Grunty Farm while waiting for Mimiru and the others. I saw my grunty, Mr. Moo Moo, sitting by two others, eating a _La Pumpkin_. I sat on the hay and snapped my fingers and called him over. He nestled in my lap and snuggled his head between my sleeve and stomach.

"Hey there, little guy," I said, patting its head. It stared up at me with its large, beady eyes, and squealed happily. I pulled out an _Angry Carrot_ and lopped it in half, giving my pet little pieces at a time.

After a while of playing with Mr. Moo, Moo Mimiru arrived, dressed in a cultural outfit designed specifically for the festival. _She must have bought it from the Registrar…I should go get one myself._ "Hello again, Mimiru. You look nice." She smiled, blushing and straightening out her frilly skirt.

"Hi, Navel. Bear and BT will be here shortly. They're just getting home from a dinner party, or something, and have to get settled in."

"Oh, they're married?" I asked.

"No, they're just…together, I suppose. I have suggested they get married on plenty occasions, but they don't want to for some reason."

"I see," I said, walking with her to the Registrar. I purchased a ceremonial robe and equipped it, and followed the Heavy Blade back to the Chaos Gate to wait for her friends.

"Hey, am I crazy, or something? Or did you hear that loud thunderous booming earlier?"

I bit my lip to keep from choking on happy tears. "Well, you _are_ crazy," I said slyly. "But yes. I did hear that. I wonder what it was."

I saw her veins pop out on her head, and she punched me in the forehead, raising her chin snobbishly. "I'm not crazy." She harrumphed and then smiled.

"Heh…So, yeah. Why don't you ever have dates?" I asked, and then slapped myself for being so forward. But instead of exploding on me she stated simply a "meh." and scratched her head.

"I guess it's because I don't like a lot of guys, save for the ones I know. But between them, there is either no one to choose from, or everyone's just creepy. We've got Bear, who's with BT and _way_ too old for me…and Tsukasa, who's a girl in real life and is with Subaru…Um, well, Silver Knight, but I think he's obsessed with Subaru…um,"

"I get the point." We leaned over the wall to watch the boats swimming around in the red-black waters. The evening moon and stars reflected beautifully off the surface, giving the impression that it was a parallel world.

"Are we _interrupting_ anything?" asked a voice behind us. We turned and saw Bear and BT, dressed nicely for the occasion.

"Bear! BT!" screamed Mimiru, giddy and excited. "Where's Tsukasa and Subaru?"

BT adjusted a sleeve on her gown and faced her, smiling. "They will be here in—right now."

Two people gated in right behind them, and stepped around. One was a Wavemaster like me, only he wore grey and tan. He quickly changed into a floral robe and watched as the Axe User Subaru followed suit.

"Tsukasa, Subaru. Meet Navel, my date," said Mimiru quite childishly. Subaru bowed and Tsukasa stepped up.

"I've heard of you," he said, shaking my hand. "It's nice to meet you. This is Subaru, my date."

I nodded and bowed to Subaru. "Long time, no see, Subaru," I said. "It's been several years since you and that tank of hot air Silver Knight saved me from that dungeon."

"Oh yes, Navel. I remember you. You gave me a pair of earrings you'd found in that field's Gott Statue room as payment for rescuing you. I'm actually wearing them right now." She tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear to show off her accessories. I smiled and turned to Mimiru.

"Well, I think we're all here, right?" Everyone nodded, and I followed them to the center of town. _Lawk, I pray that you are all right…I would have liked to enjoy this evening with you._

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

"Would you cut that out!?" cried a Dancer as she was chased down a long, narrow passage. Her pursuer, a Pole Arm and leader of the Emerald Knights, followed quickly, mercilessly.

"I, Lady Rain, have found you! You are a cheat player! You must be destroyed, by order of CC corp.!" Ryoko stopped as three knights appeared at the end of the alleyway. Four more came up alongside Lady Rain. "Men, assemble!" The dancer prepared for battle.

"Have you checked out my character specs, stupid? I am no cheater!" She cast a spell into her fan by voice-commanding it. "Gust of Wind!" she cried, being wrapped in blankets of protecting winds. She then waved her weapon in Lady Rain's direction, calling out another attack. This time Rain was impaled by blades of light, and toppled over backwards, her avatar flashing red.

"Why, you _little_!" she said, trying to reposition herself with her halberd, only to be knocked back down by two daggers stabbed into her chest on both sides. Another player had joined the battle, followed by a second. The Twinblade and Axe User made quick work of the knights and helped Ryoko to her feet when they had finished.

"Thought you needed a bit of help," said the Twinblade, who looked like a ninja, spinning his daggers between his palms. The second player, the Axe User, smiled and held her weapon tight, leaning over it and breathing heavily. "Are you all right, Lena?"

The woman, Lena, stood up after a moment and gave them thumbs up. "Of course I am," she turned to Ryoko, pointing at the man. "Xero's always protective over me. It's because I'm pregnant."

Ryoko nodded and thanked them both for their help, and brushed herself off. "We really shouldn't have attacked the Emerald Knights though…"

"Oh they had it coming for quite a while," said Lena, setting down her large axe and sitting cross-legged on a box. Xero leaned up against the wall to her left. Ryoko clutched a streetlight opposite them.

"Each Knight Squad, from every server, are growing paranoid of every player who comes to The World lately. With all of the recent things that have happened, I can see why. But they've been going overboard."

Ryoko sighed, closing her fan and tucking it in her kimono. "Well, thank you again. But I really must be off now. Is it all right if I take your member addresses?" They both nodded and they traded. Ryoko ran off and gated out.

**Σ: Hidden, Passed Over, Cat Market**

The large ogre brought its hammer down on the Axe User's Head. He cried in pain, downing a Recovery Drink. A Pole Arm and Blademaster were hard at work trying to disembowel the beast with a fury of blows.

"Basic strategy!" commanded the Blademaster, twisting around the beast and taking a long sweep at its leg. It let out a mean growl and tried turning, but was taken down quickly by the red-haired Pole Arm. She used the command "Double Sweep" and cut the ogre in half by means of a large semicircle with her halberd.

When the battle ended they continued into the last room of the dungeon. "The Gott Statue!" cried the Twinblade, as if he had never seen one before. "God, I'm so excited!"

"Newbies," said the Blademaster, tapping the chest with his blade. When it opened, he was blown back into the Twinblade. A red wand hovered out from the light within the box and stayed there for a moment, as if waiting for something. The Pole Arm stepped forward, attempting to grab the item, only to be electrocuted and frozen in place. The wand teleported behind her and lifted her into the air, crucifying her.

A man walked out from the shadows, grinning and cheering evilly. He snapped his fingers and a strange-looking humanoid cat materialized before the Pole Arm. "Data Drain," called the man and the cat placed its hand on her breast, using the awesome deadly powers to separate their data. The girl fell over soon after, unconscious. The Blademaster and Twinblade ran away, terrified.

Locke knelt down and collected the woman in his arms and turned to leave, grabbing his Red Wand along the way. "Sprite Ocarina," he called, and left the dungeon, Pole Arm and all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII: Chosen**

**Shiji's Coffee, Kyoto, Japan**

It had been three months since Miki fell comatose, and he showed no signs of recovery. The same was said for Beatrix and several others, who, over time, were taken into the bowels of The World, falling unconscious in the real world. Friends asked why I continued to play, and told me how ridiculous I was being, as at any moment I could be next. I always gave them the same answer: I will stay as long as it takes to find and return Lawk to his normal state. Of course that wasn't my only reason, but it was my main objective.

I enjoyed The World, flaws and all. I had been playing since Fragment and stuck out every problem that occurred. I was an addict of this game. Today, however, I sat in a local coffee house and sipped my drink carefully, blowing on it so that it may cool down. I waited for some people to arrive that I was meeting.

I had since made real good friends with the players known as Bear, BT and Mimiru. Tsukasa and Subaru did not come on much, so there was not a lot of getting to know one another, but I still considered them friends, albeit not as good as the others.

When someone sat down across from me I lowered the paper I was reading and greeted them. "Hello," said the woman, grabbing a menu from the side of the table. Propping it open she skimmed the pages quietly, until a waitress came. "By the way, I am Machiko. I play the avatar known as BT in The World."

I smiled and took another sip of my coffee. "Shiro Nayamura. And you already know I play Navel, so, yeah…Hey, where's Bear and Mimiru?" I asked, looking around.

"They will be here shortly. Traffic is pretty lousy from where they are." She turned to the waitress and ordered a cup of lapsang souchong tea. "So, Shiro. I see you're pretty young. Wait, eighteen? Seventeen?"

"Nineteen, actually. I'm a college student, when in session. Right now I'm a librarian's assistant in town."

"I see. How interesting." She continued pouring over the menu, deciding on what she wanted for brunch. "I am a dispatch operator. It is a well-paying job, I suppose, but not that much fun. I suppose you read a lot of books while you're working?"

I nodded, folding over the newspaper once more and set it aside. "I have a lot of time to do so, as the librarian is rarely there and not a lot of people stop by to take out books. They mostly come in, read the books there, and then leave."

"Sounds better than what I do," she grinned, accepting the tea from the waitress and taking a long sip.

Just then two newcomers came in and sat down at our table, smiling. Machiko stood up and embraced the man, and he gave her a peck on the cheek. "Oh, you must be Ryo, right? Bear's player?" The man nodded and allowed the young girl, about my age, possibly a year or two my senior, to sit down by the window.

"And this is Ino Masudo, better known as Mimiru," said Ryo, grabbing the menu Machiko handed to him. "Well, I don't need this. I know what I'm getting. Ino?" the girl glanced over, multitasking. She was checking an email on her cell phone and reading a menu both at once.

"I know what I want, old man…" She ducked when Ryo patted her on the head. "I am _definitely_ not a little kid anymore…" She put her phone away and stared blankly over at me. "Oh, hello there! Shiro, it's nice to finally meet you. Oh, sorry, Ryo."

"Hm?"

"Mariko and Ann can not make it this morning. They're busy."

"That's all right. I did not expect them to come anyway. I think that they are busy helping out at the animal shelter, or something." Ryo stopped a passing waitress and informed that everybody was set to order. She called over the table's waitress and we selected our meals.

About halfway through brunch Machiko stopped suddenly. "Have you been to visit that friend of yours recently, Shiro?" Stabbing the stray piece of lettuce set aside on the table, she winced at it with utter disdain. I shook my head and Ino breathed heavily, letting out a loud sigh.

"I think that we can take you. That is, if you haven't any reservations this afternoon," said Ryo, taking a large bite from his "brunch-mix-of-everything".

Ino cheered happily, raising her fist as if we had made a great victory. "That would be great!"

"It's all right, you guys. I'm sure you've got things you have to do."

"Not really,"

"Actually," started Machiko. "We need to go shopping for groceries, pick up your dry-cleaning and then head over to your son's place." Ryo nodded, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "But Shiro, you are more than welcome to come tag along. I think Ino's coming, right? We can make a pit stop to the hospital you spoke of after our errands."

"All right. If that's not a burden. Sure," I fumbled with my words, and just decided to finish eating. We discussed the latest news, the weather, Ryo's newest work—Ryo was a best-selling author of the famous book Annwn—and Ino's newest job. Apparently she had been fired from numerous positions because of her loud mouth.

As we left the shop I grabbed my belongings and followed Ino into the back of Ryo's large minivan and we headed to our first destination.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Lawk woke up to the sound of dripping water. Drip, drip, drip. He looked around the dark room, and saw that there were bars surrounding him. He noticed another presence in the room, and then another, and another. He sidled up beside Beatrix, who was facedown on the ground, her hair a shaggy mess. A young girl, a Twinblade, sat on a bench nearby in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, sobbing quietly. There were three others in the cell, but they were all unconscious and indescribable in the darkness.

"Where am I?" asked Lawk, grabbing his head and wincing. The little girl choked back some tears and glanced timidly at the winged Wavemaster.

"We're in jail…don't you see? That horrible lady put us in here, so we couldn't get out…"

Lawk moved over to the cell's door and began pulling on it hard, trying to break it, or at least loosen it slightly. The girl only shook her head.

"The woman on the ground already tried," she said between tears, sniffling. "She got exhausted and gave up after a while."

Lawk quit as well and took his former place by the wall, slumping down hard. When he heard a commotion from the staircase far across the room, he lifted his head to watch the torchlight coming their way.

Locke and Demosthenes, followed by a red-haired Pole Arm with shining gold eyes stood before the cage.

_"Experiments?"_ asked the Pole Arm.

"Indeed," replied Demosthenes, striking the bars with her wand. "We perfectly copied your method and have, after some time, succeeded your work."

Locke tapped the bar with his finger, sniggering. "Yes, and we're working on a quicker solution. I am building an AI program that, when initiating combat, will stun the enemy, temporarily knocking them unconscious and keeping them here, in The World. When that is perfected, I will progress further to make the transference permenant."

_"And what would you do then?"_ asked Morganna, suddenly interested. _"Have them cower before you in this 'new reality'?"_ She chuckled evilly, enjoying the sound of it. _"Before I allow either one of you to share my powers, I want Aura found and destroyed. I have waited far too long for that moment, and my patience grows very thin."_

"Without Aura, The World will crumble. That is why we needed you. We need to fix some of the kinks in the system before we can take her down. When she blocked Kite's path to kill you, Morganna, Aura sacrificed both of your lives to bring about the Rebirth. We need to connect you back into control before ridding ourselves of the girl."

_"Very well, Demosthenes. I expect no failures from either of you…"_

"Of course."

"Right."

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

It began to rain. Mia, a tall, purple humanoid cat Blademaster, and Elk, a blue-clad Wavemaster, sat on a ledge overlooking the canal in one of the town's many back alleys. Their feet rested gently in the water. Mia held onto a cattail strand and sniffed it happily. Elk rested his head on her shoulder.

The young Wavemaster yawned, and turned to his friend. "Hey, I just remembered something." The feline twitched her ears and looked down at him. "On the BBS, someone named Linda found an area _filled_ with Aromatic Grass! Want to go?"

"Sure. Why not? What's the place?"

"It's—" he was cut off by the sound of an unsheathing sword. He and the cat turned to greet their intruders. Two Twinblades and a Blademaster came up behind them.

"Look at what we've got here, fellas. Two helpless players with nothing to do." He stepped up to Elk cautiously; the lackeys followed quietly.

"What do you want with us?" asked Mia, stepping up and drawing out her blade. The closest was a Twinblade named Penknife. She readied her weapon and stepped between him and Elk.

"What do you have for us? There's a new toll here, and it's time to pay up!" shouted Penknife. "How much GP you got?" He took a battle stance.

"M…Mia," said Elk helplessly, grabbing onto her leg and whimpering. Mia kicked him off and stepped forward.

"Elk, stay back!"

"Friendship…" said the Twinblade, disgusted. He took a closer look at Mia's character model. "Wait…that is a unique avatar; where'd you get it? An event? I want it!" he darted forward, his blades poised to kill.

"Fa Ru Zot!" commanded Elk, striking Penknife with a water spell. "Leave Mia alone!" He raised his staff again, and prayed. "Merrows Pha!" A beast of the water spirit sprouted from the canal at their side and wound up onto the cobblestone, attacking the player killers without mercy.

"Run for it!" cried one of the lackeys. Mia, however, gave them no time to escape. She cast a long-ranged _charm_ spell and had them hacking and slashing at one another until they all turned into ghosts and faded away.

"Are you all right, Mia?" asked Elk, resting his hand on her arm. She nodded and they left the murder site, heading to the Chaos Gate. "Theta: Unforgiven, Someone's, Paradise!" called Elk, raising his staff. When nothing happened, Mia gave it a try.

[RESTRICTED AREA!!!]

"Hm? Oh well," said Mia, turning away from the revolving ring. "I suppose we can just go down there to the square and see what all the commotion is about."

When they reached the square, there was a wave of angry voices yelling and cursing up at the announcement board. Some people stomped away, and gated out. Others just complained.

"I wonder what's up?" Mia pondered aloud. Elk pointed up to the board and she turned to see for herself. It was a message from CC corp. It said:

**[We regret to inform players of The World that Mac Anu, the Aqua Capital, is experiencing some major technical difficulties that are causing it to lose stability. For those who do not wish to lose any account data may think it wise to evacuate immediately. Please relocate yourselves to any of the other servers until further notice. Note: a field on the Delta server does **_**not**_** count as an evacuation site. Direct yourself to the next available server.**

**-Lady Rain of the Emerald Knights, CC corp.]**

By the time everyone had finished reading, people were scrambling to leave the city at once. Mia and Elk stayed behind, still taking in the message. Their avatars' hometown was being taken away from them.

When the town was completely empty, save for those two, purple Chaos Gates began appearing at random points all over the place. Monsters poured out from each of them, setting about attacking things in their vicinity. The sky turned from twilight orange to a sickly green color, casting a violet shadow over the cobblestone streets of Mac Anu. A loud static rumble began vibrating the area, causing an earthquake.

Elk made a run for the Chaos Gate with Mia staggering lamely behind. A barrage of creatures blocked their path, however, and Mia decided to take a stand. She turned to Elk and frowned. "I want you to head over to another server…" Before Elk could respond, she stabbed him in the stomach, killing him instantly. _I didn't want to do that, Elk, but you wouldn't have left my side…and I can't let that happen_. "All right, monsters. Taste steel!" she charged in, taking down several monsters at a time, and leveling up.

Soon she had been surrounded, and there was no escape. The creatures began attacking simultaneously, teaming up on her. When she was killed, the beasts walked away as if nothing happened.

**Najiyumoru Hospital, Tokyo, Japan**

When we left the hospital, everybody's spirits hit rock bottom. Ino was feeling sick to her stomach, much like I was. Machiko had a placid look about her face, as if she were trying to hide the fact that she was upset. Ryo told me that she used to be a model, so I thought her experience in that field helped her feign a composed demeanor.

We stopped by a fast-food place on the way back to Ryo's place. We ate in the van and did not talk much. When we arrived, Ino and I grabbed our belongings and headed inside. The long drive back to Kyoto would be long, so we would be staying for the evening. Ino was put in the guest room while I took the pull-out couch in the living room.

I was not allowed much sleep through the night, as dreams came and went, nightmares loomed, and I was stirred out of bed several times by the most inane reasons. I could not help but think about Lawk and worry. I had played that day over in my mind over and over, contemplating on what _could_ have happened. _If Lawk had listened to me and gated out, I would be the one in the hospital…but at least he would be safe. However, it was my idea to drag him to that awful mansion in the first place._

I awoke to the face of Ino staring down at me, shivering. I was in a cold sweat, and I felt ill. "What? What is it?" I threw off the covers and sat up, putting my head between my legs and covering it with my hands.

"You were screaming in your sleep. Are you all right? What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's…it's nothing, I'm fine." I brushed past her quick and headed for the nearest bathroom. When I finished emptying out the previous evening's dinner I headed back to bed to get some rest. Ino sat at with me for a while, talking to me as I fell into a deep slumber. She ended up falling asleep where a dog would, at the foot of the pull-out.

"Well I knew we did not have to separate them," said Machiko, her arms folded. She snapped her fingers which stirred Ino and I from our sleep. "Good morning," She grabbed a tray and set it over by us, delivering breakfast. "Ryo just received an email from Helba," she said, more to me than Ino. "And she knows that you're here, Shiro. Ryo says that you should get online—the terminal is in the study—and read her email. Do it when you and Ino've finished your meal. And afterwards we're going to go bring the two of you home. Sound fine?" we nodded, and began eating.

**Net Slum**

When I arrived home I took a shower and hopped back online, and logged into The World to meet Helba in a place of her creation: Net Slum. When I got there I noticed that it really _was_ a slum. It was the most garbage-filled place I had ever seen. Bear, Mimiru and BT met me there short after.

When we assembled, Helba showed herself. "Welcome to Net Slum," she said, greeting us with a bow. "I see you have brought along friends." She looked them over, recognizing them all instantly. "I am surprised that you met with these people, Navel. They are some of the first normal players to see Net Slum. Anyway, I told you to come and meet me. Now let us cut to the matter-at-hand."

"Yes, you said that you had some information?"

"When do I not?" she said, chuckling. "I have discovered something terrible indeed. The man—the one who attacked your friend Lawk—is not working alone. He has a female associate that works with him behind the scenes. They have reawakened the entity known as Morganna." At once Mimiru, Bear and BT all gasped simultaneously. I merely shrugged. "Morganna was the original AI that stood as guardian over The World. She was designed by the programmer, Harald Hoerwick to be the birthmother for the Ultimate AI, Aura. However, when she found that, by doing this she would become obsolete, attempted to slow her birth down to a mere halt. She succeeded with the use of Tsukasa—for a while—until the Wavemaster figured out his true destiny was to awaken her. When Morganna lost, she grew more violent and took the form of the Wave, from Emma's work, and began hunting down the Chosen One.

"Her attempts were all in vain, however, as the Twinblade Kite and his friends, the dot hackers, took her down with the help of Aura, who sacrificed both of their lives to be reborn and bring about The World's Golden Age. That is where Locke and Demosthenes come in."

A black-armored Heavy Axe-user gated in on my left, a white-clad Archer to my right. One was male, the other a female. The Axe-user continued Helba's thought. "The Twilight Twins—as they have been dubbed—have, for several months now, been planning on gaining full entry into The World, so that they may cast away their bodies on the outside and subjugate the denizens of the net worldwide."

The Archer stepped forward, and knelt down. "They took your friend and some others to test out their powers in an attempt to complete their goal. After studying, they have found the solution and will be implanting themselves here very soon. Your friend and the other ones that have been taken are prisoners, doomed to suffer an eternal life in servitude or imprisonment."

Helba looked pleased at the two. "Thank you, Bith. And you, Fili." She smiled as they bowed to us and finished and raised her staff. "Morganna now has a physical body in The World, meaning that she is an actual boss this time around, and should be much easier to contain than previous encounters. No doubt some time soon either she or the Twins will set about sending the Phases to find Aura and try destroying her, which we must stop, at all costs…and then there is the matter of the victims who have fallen comatose. You must obtain that Red Wand Locke carries, and use it to defeat them and their incarnations."

"Why me?" I asked shyly, sulking now. "I am not nearly as powerful as the former dot hackers…"

"But you have friends, powerful allies. The dot hackers were never able to succeed with just a single boy. They worked together through the power of stubbornness and love. I am commissioning you to be our leader, Navel, as I see you are determined to save that friend of yours…and it is also because the Twins have targeted you as their main threat as of late, seeing as you are the stubborn one that they fear will step up." She turned in the air and turned her head back to us slightly. "I shall await your answer. Email me when you are ready." And with that she gave one last bow and gated out, her two servants following obediently. Mimiru and the others all looked to me for guidance.

At the moment, however, I had no answer.

**Λ Server Root Town, Carmina Gadelica**

We were transported over to the Cultural City. Nami and Ryoko were here, and so was Gardenia. In fact, there were a lot of players here. It was packed. Bear stepped up, suggesting that we travel to an area, to steer clear of the crowd.

"No wonder Mac Anu fell!" cried Nami, her mouth slipping. "It's like a fat guy on the bus, too much weight for a single server!"

"Delta server fell?" asked BT, tilting her head at the Blademaster. "When? I did not get a chance to see the BBS today."

"Something about a stability problem, or something," said Ryoko, fanning herself. I walked over to the Grunty Ranch with Mimiru and Bear, and set some food out for Mr. Moo Moo. Another grunty came up beside him, to pick at the many treats I brought. It was Spaulding, Lawk's pet.

"…Do you know this thing, Navel?" asked Bear, disturbed by the malnourished grunty. I dropped down and grabbed Spaulding, clutching him tight. I gave him a Purple Cherry, which healed the creature instantly and began crying. "He is Lawk's grunty…"

"Oh my," said Mimiru, bending down and handing a piece of fruit to Mr. Moo Moo.

After we finished fooling around with the grunties, we situated ourselves into parties, and headed off to a dungeon.

**Σ: Hideous, Monster's, Sea of Sand**

The surroundings disgusted me; we were in a desert, decorated with sunken ships and seashells the size of skyscrapers. The worst feature of all was the horrid sandstorm. Still, we had to be glad that this place was not crowded like the other servers.

"Ooh!" squealed Nami, making a run for the boiling pool of water, changing for the occasion, and diving in. Everybody followed suit and soon it became a pool party.

"I did not know that a hot spring existed here," said Bear, relaxing. "It's nice though, I think. It _looks_ nice, anyway." Everyone shared a laugh at this, splashing him simultaneously.

A long while passed as we enjoyed ourselves, until a figure stepped out from behind a tree. He was an NPC, or, more accurately, a Registrar. "Welcome to the Demon Hot Springs," he said in a pre-recorded voice. "The event shall begin shortly. Please enjoy the Seven Deadly Pools until that time. You are at: Pool Three, the spring of Lust. Temptations are free to explore in this zone." And then he walked away, without another word.

"And event? Who chose this place, anyway!?" shouted Nami, now angry. "Damn it, I thought we'd enjoy ourselves here for a bit…"

"Silence, you nit," said BT, about to grab a rock. Bear stopped her, however, and splashed her playfully. She returned fire and a splash war ensued. That was, of course, until the event began. Curiosity led us to register.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX: Showdown**

**Θ Server Root Town, Dun Loireag**

I sat on the bench staring blankly at the halberd I won at the Seven Deadly Sins event the previous day. I had been the one to solve the final puzzle, which taught me a lot about myself, and how I was a very sinful person indeed. I was granted with the weapon and the power of Multi-class. Given the choice to combine my Wavemaster class with one of the others, I elected to become a Pole Arm, and received the Rivergod Spear, a very powerful item. I retained all of my Wavemaster perks, with the addition to a Long Arm's. My outfit didn't change, which I thought it would, but I was glad for it; I had grown accustomed to the earthly-toned robes.

Like the Wavemaster, the Pole Arm had very low defenses, but a high attack power. Now I would be able to both attack and cast various spells. SP would no longer be this Wavemaster's worst nightmare. I smiled.

"How's it feel?" asked Gardenia, taking a seat beside me, her trident resting on her lap. "I mean, being a lancer. You've only ever been a Wavemaster, right? I have been a Pole Arm since I first came to The World, and I have not grown bored. I see you have not either, but it must be exciting, am I right?"

I nodded, not looking at her. "I am not a bad person, right?"

"Of course not, Navel. You're one of the best people I know. You're pure-hearted and I've never seen you even attempt to harm a fly. Is this because of that event?"

"And I've just been thinking. I let Lawk down. I made that promise, you know…"

"Yes, I remember. But Navel, it wasn't your fault. You've got to get over this. Lawk will be all right. I promise you. That is why Helba wants you to take charge of the operation. She knows that you are the right person for the job, and I know that."

"I'm just not sure," I said, sighing. "I'm still thinking about that. I don't think I could let him down again, much less everyone else."

I could tell she was frustrated, but she would not show her anger. "It's not going…you know what? Let's just go to that event, all right? It'll get you thinking positively for a while. You are not the same, and I fear that you might become ill if you worry too much."

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"It is finished," said Locke, approaching the dozing Demosthenes, and carrying his wand at his side. "I have finished our prototype."

When she came out of her daydream she rubbed her eyes with her hands, yawning. "A good night's rest in The World," she said happily, gazing up at the man. "What's ready, you say?"

"The project I was working on…you know, the one that, when my AI program initiates combat, it will send out a pulse that can throw their enemies into epileptic seizures, causing them to fall unconscious temporarily—until the end of battle, that is—and trap their minds in the game. I have finished the prototype, Demosthenes. It's ready!"

When she stretched and threw water on her face from a puddle in the stone floor nearby, she allowed what he said to sink in. "Oh, well, then. I suppose we'll just have to test it out. You know how skeptical I am of your work, Locke."

He threw his head back, laughing triumphantly. "You will honor me when you see that this works, darling. By the way…where is Morganna?"

"I believe that she is at the top of the tower, meditating, or whatever she does, so that she can "see on the wind" and find out where Aura is." She waved her hand as if telling him not to think about it. "I'm not sure about her. She is much stranger than I had thought. We'll keep tabs on her."

"Right. Well, as I was saying. During my process, I went through many different AIs and I think that one of them has grown a sense of awareness and has wandered off. And since I designed him as an adventurer, I thought that he would try out every event he could, attempting to become a powerful warrior. Therefore, I have implanted this project of mine into our newest AI, and it will serve as my bounty hunter for right now. I'm sure that, if people try fighting it, no doubt they will be inflicted with the program. I am excited, Demosthenes…"

"As well you should, Locke. But be wary, if you fail, I will not allow you to continue your work and make you suffer for wasted effort."

Locke simply scoffed, and walked off, grabbing a shadowy figure draped in a cloak and pulling it through the door.

_"A little harsh, aren't we, Demosthenes?"_ said Morganna, sitting on a nearby windowsill, stabbing her halberd repeatedly into the stone floor playfully. _"Locke trusts you, with all of his heart, and I can not help but notice that, whenever he is around, your numbers skyrocket—almost off the charts—and cause you to become angry. I feel that he is merely a pawn, which makes me trust you less, but respect you more."_

Demosthenes shuddered at this, and turned her back to the Pole Arm. "Morganna, it is not your business what I do with him. You know nothing of my passion towards Locke, nor my plans. You will be silent from now on, keeping opinions to yourself. Should you refuse to comply, I can simply delete you again. It will not be that difficult."

_"But then you lose all hope of ruling The World."_ Morganna took pleasure in making snide comments at the arrogant woman, causing her to rethink her methods and frantically change them, utterly causing them to fail.

**Λ Server Root Town, Carmina Gadelica**

"Come one, come all!" shouted someone on a large platform that had been raised in the center of the city. Dark Angel was accompanied by twelve Amber Knights, surrounding his place on the stage. Over one hundred users were surrounded after about five minutes, waiting for the black knight to continue.

Gardenia and I arrived in a party, along with Mimiru, Bear and BT, who were in their own party. Nami and Ryoko were here too, but they had not formed a party. We walked forward, hitting the back of the large group of people, and stood there, anxiously awaiting the news of the upcoming event.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began Dark Angel, speaking dramatically. "The Festival of Twilight begins today, on the anniversary of the day the Shadowed One and his comrades rescued the Legendary Twilight Dragon and saved the world! Relish in the festivities, because this is the dawn of a New World!" He raised his hands, firing off sparks from the fingertips. Within seconds the metropolis was dressed for the party. A large, paper kite flew high in the air, in the form of the Twilight Dragon. Dark Angel disappeared as the podium lowered back into the street, and the festival began.

Everyone dispersed, going here and there, partaking in this evening's activities. There were games, rides, and even performances. The system administrators had hired a famous band to perform in-avatar at the Theatre House, up on stage. They were wonderful, and it felt as if we really _were_ at a concert.

There were dancers twirling around over by the Demon's Tent, heralding players to watch the circus. Gardenia and I walked over and sat down at a long table to join a game of The Grinning Grunty, a card game similar to blackjack, only with playing cards designed off of The World themes. As we played a couple of hands, we were all growing a bit richer by the minute, gambling and enjoying one another's company all at once.

Several times a fight broke out at the gaming tables, but the Amber Knights stepped in immediately to settle the matters, booting out nobody, but instead sending them on their way to do something else.

Bear, Mimiru and BT went to the circus, watching the jugglers attempt to keep their objects hovering while riding on grunties, acrobats flying up on the ropes, and even a lion-taming performance. Everything was spectacular, especially since CC corp. had outdone themselves with this event, not missing a thing.

The fun did not last for very long, however, as a loud, monstrous rumble shook the entire city. When a loud voice boomed in the air, they headed for the Town Center once more. Dark Angel appeared, his crimson blade high in the air, and a valiant expression played about his face. "Now comes the next phase of the Twilight Festival!" he cried, addressing everybody. "Because of the unrest in Carmina Gadelica, the monsters have taken it upon themselves to revel in our weak state." He was role playing. "The creatures are pulling down the Chaos Gate! For those of you who would step up and be our heroes, stay, and save the city. Everybody else, good luck! At the end of the raid, we will crown the true hero of Carmina Gadelica! Now, before I start the festival, I would like to thank the anonymous designer of this event tonight." There was a long pause and then some muffled whispers among the crowd. "Apparently they could not make it this evening, or they wish to continue remaining Anonymous…"

And with that Dark Angel stabbed his blade into the stage, disappearing in a red flash of light. The Chaos Gate down the main street suddenly burst, and monsters began gating in from all directions. Players readied themselves swiftly and jumped into the fray.

"Come on, Navel!" shouted Gardenia, stabbing a goblin in the face and running to attack the next opponent. I followed behind, striking down beasts here and there with my spells.

A leviathan scorpion-like beast ambushed Ryoko, but she had come prepared. Drawing out her fan she doubled her assault power by duplicating it, bearing two weapons now. "Dance of the Dragon!" she roared, paralyzing the insect. Four large, tightly-packed cyclones sprung up on either side of the beast, flanking it. The cobblestones began shifting, cracking beneath the awesome power. From the maelstrom appeared the transparent figure of a serpentine beast, twisting and winding within each twister, gathering energy. When the four spirits came together at the center, they fused into one being and made their quick descent onto the demon's head, crushing it like a fragile clay vase. When the monster faded away into shadow, Ryoko spun around in a victory dance.

Nami flew past Ryoko on her large feather, with another player—a male—dressed similar to her in punk-like garb, dodging the spells of a witch-like fiend. The two of them worked together to cut down the sorceress, maneuvering around it and activating an array of special attacks.

"Nice job, Nami, Ashura!" I called, shielding myself from a blow to the face by a giant's club. I pulled out a scroll to confuse it, and began a flurry of spells while it stood dumbfounded.

After a long battle, many players died and became ghosts, and there were less than thirty enemies left. When the time came, and someone dealt the final blow, the player disappeared and everything was quiet.

"What the—"

Trumpets began playing as Dark Angel showed himself once more, with two new people on either side of him. "I give you," he began, raising the man's arm. "Our champion, Biru!" Everyone cheered, gazing at the pale man. He wore a long black trench coat, covered in belts and buckles. His face was partially hidden by a large collar, hiding his delicate lips. His bangs shrouded his eyes, but a red gleam shown through. The man was a Heavy Blade.

"And, like every champion," he grabbed the arm of the second player, a woman dressed in black robes, armored boots, gauntlets and plate mail. She wore a long, hooded green cape that reached past her feet. She carried a beautifully-made emerald sword, sheathed at her side.

She removed her hood, revealing long, flowing Tuscan-red hair and a pale face. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed that the whites of her eyes were nonexistent. Everything was black, except for the golden ring surrounding each pupil. To me they looked like solar eclipses. "Let's say we meet our damsel-in-distress, Miluda, the player with the LVP!" Another wave of cheers swept the city, causing the woman to shudder.

_Apparently she did not like being put on the spotlight for being the one with the least victory points,_ I thought dryly, raising my weapon with everyone else, encouraging the next wave of the event to commence. Dark Angel raised his hand to silence the crowd and continued. "Now, for the exciting part of tonight's event. Our champion has saved the city from the vile threat of darkness, and fell in love with the pretty maiden, Miluda. But all is not well, as Miluda is the target of the Dawn Dragon!" Everybody gasped, except for Miluda, who just stood there, staring blankly off the stage. "From here on out the rest of you shall act as an audience, seeing as Biru must fight alone to ensure the safety of the one he loves most. Ready?" He snapped his fingers, and Miluda disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Dark Angel took his leave and Biru drew out his sword.

A roar echoed off the buildings and streets, and a gigantic beast showed itself, appearing high up in the sky. As it soared over the Town Center, it tore the Twilight Dragon kite that was strung up, ripping it to shreds. The beast had shining black scales, and bright, green wings. Its eyes were gold, and its claws were blood-red. It was a terrifying sight indeed.

When the dragon zoomed overhead once more, it descended upon us, and many people jumped back. It landed with a loud, rumbling thud on the stage, causing Biru to stagger back slightly. A terrible, ear-splitting roar rumbled between its razor-sharp teeth. When Biru repositioned himself correctly, and angled his sword at the beast, the creature fired a cannonball of raging blue fire at him, causing him to sidestep and back flip out of the way.

"Prepare to die, Miluda!" cried Biru, leaping and slashing hard on the dragon's stomach, making barely a scratch.

"Miluda? The girl?" said someone in the crowd.

"She's the dragon?" asked another.

"Navel, over here!" It was Mimiru, calling us over to have a better look at the battle. Gardenia and I ran over, and Mimiru began talking a mile a minute. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! That woman was the dragon! Oh, wow! This is really _awesome!_ I wonder what'll happen!"

Gardenia covered her eyes, to shield them from the bright lights, winching. "This is new. I did not know that player characters could transform like that!"

"I don't think she's a normal player," said Bear, pulling BT away from the platform. "It must be an event PC of some kind, or else she could have turned during the raid and gained the MVP."

"That's weird," said Mimiru, oblivious.

"It's stupid," retorted Nami, sitting on her feather, Ashura at her side.

And so the epic battle ensued, Biru fighting bravely, and knocking back the beast. He was not so lucky towards the end, however, as the beast did something it should not have been able to do. It opened its large, monstrous maw, and data drained the warrior! He was wrapped in a binding flash of iridescent streams of energy, crying in pain and frantically struggling to get free. He disappeared in a final flash, and the dragon roared triumphantly.

_Data Drain!?_ I thought, panicking. "Guys, let's get out of here, quick!"

Everyone agreed, and we headed for the Chaos Gate. Dark Angel and the knights stepped in quickly to put an immediate end to the event, but the dragon merely disappeared, into a Gate portal, which seemed unnatural, as monsters could not gate out. Their only option was to fight until they died, or their opponent did.

"Here!" called a woman's voice.

We were transported away soon after, seeing as things became very hectic, and Carmina Gadelica was being destroyed by a massive infection of some sort. A loud crackle of thunder boomed in the distance. A long, loud cackle could be heard, echoing about the area, causing the waters to ripple and quake.

**Net Slum**

I fell to the ground hard, landing on a broken streetlight. The others were here as well, all dusting themselves off and standing back up. We had been sent to Net Slum for some reason, not by our own volition.

"Welcome back," said the woman's voice, and Helba stepped out of a rift in the sky. "As you were present I need not tell you what just happened. The dragon you saw was clearly an AI program, designed by some malign force, most likely Morganna or the Twilight Twins. She and the event champion, Biru, were both AIs, illegally edited and sent into the system, I'm afraid. Intelligence informs me that the event was staged to capture Biru, seeing as he was programmed to participate in events until the finale. The enemy knew this and was probably trying to delete the data trail by killing him off. He was trash data that somehow meandered off and out of their reach…until this evening."

BT scratched her head, thinking this over. "But why would the enemy stage an entire event, just to capture one NPC?"

"That is an interesting question I have been asking myself. I am not sure. All I have to go on is that the AI was filled with trash data that would lead to the enemy's hideout. I could not get to it though…too heavily guarded. And besides, the dragon has completely destroyed anything I could ever hope finding on him."

I picked up my staff and walked over to Gardenia, assisting her in getting off the ground. "Helba, why did Mac Anu and Carmina Gadelica fall?"

She smiled, her eyes a mystery beneath that visor. I could tell she was probably beaming under there. "Now _that_ I can explain," she began, lowering herself closer to our group. "That was the work of Morganna. While the Twilight Twins are fooling around with their little projects, she is setting about looking for Aura her own way, and taking her anger out upon The World while she's at it. She is looking for the broken pieces of the eight programs Locke and Demosthenes copied, so that she may use them once more. I fear a second coming of the Wave…"

Bear and Mimiru glanced at one another and then turned to me. "Navel," said Bear. "I think that it is time you make your decision. Those two will be coming after you very soon; we all know this…and will stick with you to the very end…but you have to make up your mind. _Will you lead us_?"

"Yeah, come on, Navel. You're a great leader," cheered Ryoko, waving her fans in the air.

"He hasn't screwed up when I'm around," Nami teased.

Gardenia grabbed me by the hand and then tilted my head so I could meet her eyes. "You have an obligation to Lawk. Do you remember the day you fell in love with him?" I did, but I was too embarrassed to say so. "You said to him, 'as long as I still draw breath, Lawk, I shall always protect you.' Was that a lie? He has been lost in the system and is waiting for Navel to set him free. You are his _Guardian_." That word stung, and all I could see was a dumbbell in my mind.

"I…I…"

"When I became involved with Tsukasa, BT was wise in telling me, 'if you're not ready to take full care of that child, you shouldn't get involved any further. That's best for both of you.' Navel, you made a promise to that friend of yours; you told him that you were going to protect him. Now protect him. Lead us to his prison, and vanquish his capturers!"

Helba watched this dramatic spectacle with amusement, knowing that they were doing right to encourage me into leading them. I, however, was not so sure if I was willing or ready to fight. Was I even strong enough? "I will…try. I will go as far as I can…I want to see Lawk again. But I can not do it alone…" I frowned. I was not a great public speaker, and every time I addressed a crowd, I choked.

"That's why you've got us, kiddo!" said Mimiru, chuckling.

"Who're you calling 'kiddo'? You're barely two years older than him!" shout BT, knocking the Heavy Blade on the head with the end of her staff. "Be quiet." She then turned to me. "But she is right. We are all here, at your side, and we will not leave, no matter how rough this gets."

"I…thank you…"

"Hey! Oww, BT, why did you do that, you—"

"Then it is settled," called Helba, raising _The Eight Wisemen _staff high into the air. A Helba Gate appeared at the center of our group, spinning tediously. "I have opened a passageway into the broken Delta server. The dragon's movements were last seen there. You would be wise to prepare yourself before you go, Navel. Select your party and get replenish your inventory." Five shops popped up out of the ground on every side, and goblin-like NPCs stood behind the counters. Everybody scurried over to them, shopping for just the things that they needed. "Please tell me, when you are ready."

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"I told you, she is in Delta tracking down the fifth and final AI that wandered off. He is somewhere over there."

"Locke, you fool!" raged Demosthenes, her fists clenched tightly, her face red with anger. "Do you know what could have happened should Miluda have _failed_ and a glitch appeared, and someone _else_ defeated her!?" she grabbed him hard by the neck and lifted him off the ground. "They would have discovered something immediately in her programming and tracked us down. And, if the tracked us down, what do you think would happen?" she asked, gripping tighter.

Between gasping for air, he answered, "They…would…have sent Aura…"

"That is right." She released him and he dropped to his knees, holding onto his bruised neck. "Summon her back, immediately! Do not go behind my back again, or I will hand you off to Aura on a silver plate, or better yet, kill you _myself_." She walked off silently, angrier than sin.

_"It is a pity,"_ said Morganna out of nowhere, kneeling before Locke. _"That you must crawl to please her, Locke. I know very well that you are an intelligent being and did what you thought was right. I applaud you. However, I must advise you to ignore her orders to summon back the dragon. Someone has entered Mac Anu, and I do not want them poking their noses around where they do not belong. Get rid of them!"_

"Who is it?" he asked, standing up. "How did someone get into Mac Anu?"

_"A Wavemaster, who has gone in alone, for some reason, and is _not_ welcome…"_

"Wavemaster…" said Locke. "_Navel_," He growled and stood up, heading to the door. "I will have Miluda deal with him _immediately_," he said between breaths, leaving Morganna alone to talk quietly to herself.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

"Are you _sure_ that you will not want assistance while you are here?" said Helba, as if it were mandatory she ask. It did not really sound as though she cared either way. I shook my head, and bowed to her.

"I thank you for all that you've done, but I don't want anything bad happening to my friends."

"I understand perfectly."

"Mmhm…" I turned, and heard the _whoosh_ sound of someone gating out. _Alone now,_ I thought bitterly to myself, stepping forward into the broken town, my staff held between my hands. I looked around, my eyes shifting from here to there every second or so, just so that nothing would jump out and cause me to have a heart attack.

The waterways were a slimy green and the cobblestone streets were unearthed, scattered everywhere. Buildings were either damaged or destroyed completely, data skeletons sitting in their stead. I walked down to the town Square, seeing a monster struggle to breathe. I moved in closer, but when I tried to get close, it toppled over and died.

_What is going on here?_ I looked to the skies, attempting to catch a glimpse of the dragon, but nothing but the gloomy green skies could be seen, and the nasty storm clouds. It was still raining here, a sickly green acid-like shower. Purple lightning streaked through the clouds and struck random buildings and street corners. It was terrible.

If this much had happened in Mac Anu within six days, I wondered how Carmina Gadelica would look next week. _Worry about the dragon,_ I scolded, continuing on down through several alleyways, searching. Looking through my Quick list, I selected my halberd, so that I could attack the beast instead of scurry around and hope for the best from my spells.

When passing the Apothecary, a broken merchant NPC stepped up, asking me if there was anything I needed to buy. He initiated the [Buy/Sell/Neither] screen and waited patiently. I selected neither, and slashed at him. He fell in a burst of data. Had I not done this, he would have followed the nearest player until they bought something. At least that was how I figured it. The last time I encountered a bug in the system, the merchant followed my party until we bought something…in the middle of a dungeon.

As I strolled back up the streets I decided to head for the Chaos Gate and wait for Helba to gate me out. I took a few steps forward before someone called out to me. The voice pierced me like ice. I was frozen to the spot as I felt someone leering at me from behind.

"You are not going _anywhere_," said a stern female voice. I turned to face the Blademaster dressed in black and cloaked in a green cape. Miluda. Her eyes were locked on mine in a fearless and intimidating glare. She dropped her hood and flicked a lock of her long hair out of her eyes and aimed her emerald sword at me.

"Your fate is sealed. Do not even try to escape." The woman breathed her words fiercely, yet she managed to contain any anger she may have had and, instead caused herself to appear emotionless. Her solar eclipse-like eyes stared me down, giving me a purely evil impression.

"So you're Miluda, servant of the 'Twilight Twins', am I correct?" she made no response, but I could tell that my guess was accurate. "I assume that your bosses discovered that I was here, and sent you out to find me? Well, you're in for a surprise, then. I am ready now, for anything you will throw at me." I took myself into a personal battle stance.

"Ignorant fool," Miluda seethed before taking her own stance.

She raised her sword and there was a blinding green flash of light that surrounded me. As the sparkly brightness crawled around my body, I yelped in pain, on the outside, as I lost control of my body. Soon I had fallen unconscious.

When I regained consciousness a moment later my avatar was still in his battle stance, but I was controlling him not with a controller, but my mind. I was in the game, somehow. I looked around to see if I had maybe fallen asleep at my terminal and was now dreaming. When I heard Miluda's laughter from across the way, I knew then that this was not the case.

When the light dissipated I saw that Mac Anu was even more distorted than it was when I had arrived before. Things that were broken were gone, and things that were fine were now broken. The stray cobblestone still stood, along with some streetlights. The rain was still a nice touch, making this look like an abandoned kingdom of some sort.

There was a tense stare down taking place. The heavy rain pelted down mercilessly. We were face to face, our stares meant to provoke the other's first move. I wanted badly to eviscerate this enemy and her associates for what they had done to Lawk, and destroying The World.

Miluda gazed back at me with her devilish eyes, still showing no emotion, concealing anger. I knew that people like her would not show any weaknesses; nor mercy. As Helba said, I was a threat to the Twilight Twins, and Miluda would serve them well by eliminating that threat.

I could contain my rage no more; I charged toward Miluda with my halberd poised to kill. I swung with all of my might, only to be blocked back with great ease. She parried the last blow to the side and countered by elbowing me in the ribs.

I gasped and was knocked back somewhat, but mostly unfazed. Miluda then swung her blade in a vertical slash attack; I just managed to dodge the strike in time. She kept her sword pressed down against my weapon and added more pressure into the deadlock, attempting to lower me to my knees, or, disarm me.

Luckily, I saw this coming and knew I would never overpower her like this, so I gave her a hard kick in the stomach. She doubled up afterward and lifted her sword off of me, drawing it down over her ribs protectively for a brief second. I saw the flash of light illuminate from her stomach. She was healing herself!

I took a few steps back and we shared another long stare once more, calculating the other's next move.

_She's much stronger than I expected,_ I realized. The woman gave me no time to follow up on that lucky strike; she charged again and tried to get me with a diagonal sweep.

Trying to back out of the way, I found that I was too slow for it. The slash connected and cut through my robes, leaving a long thin line down my chest. I yelped in pain, but was thankful that the blade had caught me thin. It could have easily been my demise should she have managed to get any deeper.

She attempted to cut me down once more from the opposite direction, but I blocked her early with _Rivergod_, instinctively. She pressed me further, giving no time to heal my wound. I was being forced back, and there was nothing I could do in response other than avoid her strikes.

After knocking me back a considerable distance, she decided to relent on her barrage of blows, finding that she would need a different method of attack to break through my defenses. _She is smart_.

I leapt back as soon as she ceased the brutal assault, and quickly downed an entire Recovery Drink. There was no use being concerned with a wound of that size, but I decided to anyway. I had to fight at my best, and I figured that a couple of cuts and bruises would inevitably result in my demise towards the end. So getting rid of them early was the best option.

A feeling of unsettling rose in my stomach as I saw Miluda holding an inky black energy between the fingers of her free hand. I knew that would be aimed at me. Suddenly she discharged the black ball and it shot straight at my head, allowing no time for reaction. There was no decrease in my health gauge, but instead, I was shocked to see the blackness had turned into smog that swirled around my face, completely obscuring my view of the battlefield.

It was the blinding magic that had taken full effect. I had no status ailment-healing potions, so I was in trouble. Dodging my opponent's strikes would be close to impossible with my lack of vision. I needed to resort to detecting her with my ears now.

Calculating Miluda's position was a bad idea, mostly because the sound of the rain on cobblestone overpowered everything else. This battle was turning very ugly, since I did not have sensitive enough ears.

Thankfully, she began to move. I could hear her metal boots clinking on the road as she tore through the downpour, hacking and slashing wildly at the air, to finish the battle. And since she was attacking head-on, I couldn't waste time by sidestepping away to dodge. I had to keep jumping back to avoid multiple swings.

"Agh! I cannot win like this!" I cried. _I've gotta create distance between us, or stall her, so I can build up a spell! But how?_ I blocked one more sweep when an idea formulated. _Of course!_ I thought. _Blademasters do not have the versatility of a Pole Arm in combat. Pole Arms can leap high distances, while other classes can not!_ I figured that, if I were on a rooftop, she would be powerless to attack me. But since I could not see where I was, I had to frantically feel everything.

Miluda took another chance at charging; she knew I could not dodge her forever, and I would soon fall victim to her blade. But before she came in range, I leapt as high as I could to my left. I prayed that I would land on something high up as I flew blindly into the sky. Suddenly I felt the slate on the tips of my shoes and was relieved. That was, of course, before my feet slipped off and scraped against the side of a building as I fell.

Somehow I managed to grab a hold of the rooftop's ledge and began hauling myself up, panicking about how that slight error could have been fatal. Miluda was closing in on me and I knew she would try to stop me from clambering out of her reach.

And just as I was pulling myself along the gutters, I felt a gloved hand grab my right leg. A jolt of fear rushed through my head as I was being dragged downward. Desperately and frantically I pulled away, but she continued holding on. I had another idea. I swung my halberd wildly behind me, down near my legs. Luck was on my side as the flat end of the blade smacked Miluda's hand, and she lost her grip.

I finally scrambled to the roof, breathing a short sigh of relief. I had bought myself time to create a safe haven. Suddenly I remembered that she could use magic, too, so I was not completely safe. I was reminded of this fact by the darkness that still shrouded my vision.

Deciding to dig deep I attempted to make another attack; if this one failed, I would make a run for it. Clearly I was outmatched, but I would still at least try. _I'll use Desperado,_ I thought. _One of my best moves._ I could hear crackling energy down below and knew Miluda was brewing something.

Hastily I charged up my halberd. I aimed it towards the sound below me. "Dragon's Breath!" I called. Hot white energy at the spear's tip formed a dragon's head, which opened its jaws wide and fired a series of searing blue missiles like rain pelts. I hoped that this would be enough, just so I could finish her off already. But no, the attack merely caused several explosions on the ground, but nobody was crying in pain.

Instead, Miluda was jolting here and there, out of the way. She continued to charge up her spell. It was good for me, though, as I now knew where she stood. The missiles formed a perfect spiral, and she had dodged them all, leaping from the final one in its center. When my attacks subsided, her spell was ready.

The next thing I heard was the discharge of energy. I moved to dodge, but my entire left side was rammed by a tremendous wave of light. The attack knocked me flying and I fell haphazardly several feet before landing with a painful thud on the stone street, face first.

It was then that the effects of my healing spell took place. A green wind rushed over my body as the Ola Repth began easing away the painful wounds. When I was able to regain my composure, I held out my halberd and took a defensive stance.

I was surprised when Miluda did not attack immediately. There was a distinct pause; I considered casting another spell, but decided that it would just be a waste of much needed energy, as she could dodge anything. That, plus I would be open to attack while concentrating.

The sound of her footsteps smacking the stone in a charge reached my ears and forced me to tense up, hoping to block whatever blow she might unleash. I listened for her blade and thrust my weapon towards it to parry. The halberd smashed into her sword and I cried in pain as a powerful surge of electricity tore through my body from the sword in a bright, excruciating flash.

Miluda brought her weapon back and I toppled to the ground. She turned to leave; clearly I was in no state to continue fighting. She would leave me here to die in the street. But as she walked off, I called out weakly, "Wait…we're not through yet…" Miluda turned around, astonished to find that I was still conscious. Somehow I rose to my feet, almost as if I were possessed. "I can not let you get away with this," I seethed. "You and your masters ruined everything that is good about The World! I will do as I'm told and end your reign of terror once and for all, to rid The World of this mass destruction!"

She smirked and then turned back, inching closer to me.

"Enough of this ludicrous fantasy!" she shouted, glaring me down.

"I will deliver justice…I will stop you!" I growled as thunder rumbled in the clouds above. "I will protect The World!" And, just as I stood up, I was engulfed in a mysterious, hazy white light.

**Net Slum**

"It appears that Navel has found some strange power," said Helba, hovering before the crowd of friends. "An ancient power from the beta version that was never brought into the upgrades. It is an ancient ability that serves as a sort of God Boost, so-to-speak. When a player's hit points are below ten percent, and they are fighting their hardest, they will enter this sort of trance and gain extraordinary abilities pertaining to their class.

"With Navel having two classes," she continued, turning and scratching her chin. "This should be very interesting indeed. I can not wait to see the outcome."  
"Should we go and help him?" asked Gardenia, readying her halberd. Mimiru, Bear and BT did the same.

"No, no. He said that he wanted to go in alone, so that he did not put your lives at risk. Let him fight her off by himself."

"But we can't just sit here!" shouted Ryoko.

"Sure we can, but I don't really want to either," remarked Nami.

Bear stabbed his sword into the ground. "Damn it…"

"Whether you wish to help or not, he has advised me to keep you here until the end of battle. Knowing the type of person Navel is," she said, sounding arrogant. "Losing another person to the world he loves would probably break the boy. And we all know what happens to someone when they break…"

Everybody was silent.

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

Miluda had to cover her eyes to prevent being blinded. After a moment the flash died down; she was stunned by what she saw. She could scarcely believe it.

I was a glowing mass of power; my eyes were white orbs, my outfit was blowing in a wind that seemed to emanate from within my body. I was filled with a strange, new power.

My blind curse had been removed.

Thunder rumbled high above, lightning streaking white and hot through the clouds, casting light on the battlefield. Rain pelted down relentlessly, washing out small puddles of blood that stained the streets of Mac Anu. Miluda was standing tall amongst the wreckage, her eyes glinting with determination to do what was best for her.

She stared fiercely at her opponent, who had surprised her by practically rising from the dead. Opposite her stood me, bathed in a blue aura, a bright light compared to the dirty colors of the corrupted town, which lay in ruin.

My eyes burned with an intense rage, a will to bring some justice and slay those who would defile The World. I would put an end to the killing, destruction and madness! I had to.

We stared at each other for a long time, daring the other to move first. This time, Miluda decided to take initiative as she lunged at me, her sword held back, ready to swing. She attempted to bring it down hard horizontally, but I moved swiftly out of the way. She then tried another attack, which I countered by thrusting Rivergod forward. She was just quick enough to block the counter and swung at my other side. Again I dodged effortlessly and we entered a brawl of blocking and countering, blocking and countering.

Eventually, Miluda attempted a vertical assault, but when I backed up swiftly, she did not bring back her sword immediately. Instead, she pushed down, beginning another deadlock. Remembering how things went last time, she attempted forcing be down with her blade again.

She was, however, shocked to find that I managed to knock her back ever so slowly, that I actually overpowered her this time around. Soon I decided that this was a waste of strength and resorted to my previous tactic and kicked her once more in the ribs. A trance kick, I found, was much worse than a normal one.

I followed up on this opening and swung down my lance at her spine. The attack connected and she let out a short yelp before flying forward, face first, and into a large puddle. Moving in for the kill, I lifted Rivergod, ready to impale her, and thrust the weapon down. She was too quick though and rolled out of the way of this lethal blow and hastily rose to her feet.

Now we weren't giving each other time to breathe. This was, once more, a lash out, trading blows and parrying strikes. I took another swing, she jumped back. She soon decided that physical confrontation was too even and backed off to set a good distance between our bodies.

I noted her position and figured that she would try casting spells again, and began charging one of my own. Red energy gathered around the tip of my spear, at a much faster rate than it normally would. Miluda saw the red light and raised her sword. Blue energy crackled like an aura over the entirety of her blade. My spell was ready first.

"Cherry Blossom!" a cone of cherry blossom petals flooded out of the lance's tip and fired at her before setting aflame, and creating a horizontal pillar of blue fiery petals.

After the smoke disappeared, I was disappointed to see her still standing. In fact, the attack barely touched her, as she managed to fire her spell in time. A transparent blue sphere covered and protected her from any blast. The blue shield faded, but her body continued to glow.

She took to the offensive once more and prepared a magic sword attack. The blade began glowing yellow, and blue sparks danced about its length like pulsing veins. I stood defensively as she charged, bringing down her mighty blade, unleashing her special ability. I sidestepped just in time to avoid being stomped down by an intense pillar of lightning the sword generated. Miluda gave a little curse before lifting her weapon and backing up.

There was a brief second where we looked deeply into one another's eyes, remaining glued to our positions, intimidating each other. I broke this short interval by lunging at her again, unleashing a series of slashes. Miluda blocked them all and managed to counter with a couple of her own.

Not wanting to give her another chance to cast a spell, I charged and swung my lance. I thought that, if I kept this strictly to a physical confrontation, it would be possible for me to win. Another set of swings ensued, until Miluda deflected a swipe and successfully countered. I cried in pain as I was cut over the chest once more, this time much deeper than the first attack. I was thrown back several feet, landing on my backside. I staggered to my feet and backed up slowly in order to properly check my wound.

I had made a vital mistake. Inadvertently, I gave her the time she needed to prepare another powerful skill. As I cast a healing spell, she conjured a bright blue energy in her sword, near the hilt. I glanced up to the white flash heading in my direction.

Pain filled the whole of my upper body, and I fell back onto the street once more. The trance had lifted and left me lying motionless. I was blinking red; I was about to die. Miluda smiled in satisfaction before turning to leave.

The rain struck my useless body. I could feel the pain searing throughout it. My eyes slowly flickered open and stared at the black clouds above. I had failed. I'd been unable to defeat Miluda and protect The World. I was still alive, which surprised me.

I tried to sit up, but the pain in my chest was so intense, increasingly so that it knocked be back to the ground, winded. I lay there, tears pouring down my face, attempting to cradle a bit of white energy between my palms, and cast a healing spell. The pain slowly dissipated, and the wounds disappeared. I believe I passed out.

After a while I found that I was able to rise back to my feet. I took a look around, checking my surroundings. I was still in Mac Anu, but Miluda was gone. How long had I been out? Just what was that last attack?

My mind was filled with questions, and I did not know how to begin searching for their answers. As my mind was cast back to the battle, a thought struck me. Why could I feel everything? Am I even at my terminal? I stepped up to the Chaos Gate and waited for Helba to summon me back.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X: Base of the Rainbow**

**Σ Server Root Town, Fort Ouph**

When I logged in I was met with the faces of my friends. They crowded my avatar and took turns telling me how much they missed me and how worried they were. When I logged off after that battle with Miluda, I did not wake up for five days. Helba had been afraid I may have fallen comatose. But when Gardenia told them that I was fine and logging on this afternoon, everyone had to come and see.

"Navel, I got you a present!" screeched Mimiru, pulling out a large box about the length of my body. When I opened it I saw a new staff, a level 99 Ludicrous. I thanked her very kindly, embracing her. "It's a wand that I bought off Balmung! It's from the beta version, so I thought you'd like it, seeing as you came from there."

"Uh…thank you, Mimiru. I'm very thankful. It's so powerful," I said. "Had I anything for you, I would—"

"It's a gift, Navel. I got it for you because you were ill and I wanted to make you feel better."

"Ah…Well, thank you."

"Welcome back," said Bear, giving me a signature "Bear Hug". I smiled while struggling out of his grip, and shook his hand.

"I'm glad to be back," I said, sincere. "I'm not sure what happened, but I know for sure that your friend Tsukasa was _not_ lying about how things felt and whatnot in The World…It was terrible."

"Why did you not ask for assistance!?" cried BT and Gardenia simultaneously. When they noticed, they chuckled.

"You could have been seriously injured, Navel!" shouted Gardenia.

Subaru stepped up—she and Tsukasa did not usually spend a lot of time with us—and bowed low. "It is wonderful to see you, and I want you to know that we were praying for you, Tsukasa and I…"

"Thank you, Lady Subaru," I said, bowing back.

And then, at once, we were all PMed by Helba. When everyone had finished reading, there were several rings of golden light appearing one after the other. We were being summoned to Net Slum.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

Miluda held her cheek, glaring up at Locke and Demosthenes. She sat on the floor, her outfit a tattered mess. Locke knelt down and grabbed her by the scruff of her collar, pulling her closer to his face. "You let him _live_?" he said, fuming with rage. "Why would you do such a stupid thing!?" She flinched as he gave her another lash across the face with his fist, forcing her back and letting go of her collar. She fell to the ground once more, whimpering.

"I…I am sorry, Master…You did not clarify that you wanted me to end his life or spare it…"  
He struck her once more, kicking her in the ribs. "Your usefulness ends here, Miluda. You are now trash, useless data. I shall delete you now." He raised his wand, and scowled. "You disappoint me."

"Wait," interrupted Demosthenes, stepping forward, her arms folded. "No, she can still be of _some_ use…Miluda, you will now be our frontline assault team when and if the time comes. I am sure that Helba is, no doubt, rallying an army to stop us as we speak. I expect nothing less." She paused briefly, and then continued. "Why did you not transform during battle? I am positive that the Wavemaster would have been no match for you then."

"I thought that it would be dishonorable to defeat the Wavemaster in an unfair battle…"

"Useless!" bellowed Locke, kicking her once more. "I designed you to _kill_, not to _battle_!" He kicked her again, this time stomping his boot onto her stomach. "Although," he said, removing his foot. "I did base her off of Beatrix, and she probably followed that model's description, as Biru had…"

"Sounds reasonable," stated Demosthenes, contemplating. "But it is no excuse."

_"I should say so,"_ boomed Morganna, stepping out from within the shadows, looming over Miluda._ "Blaming an AI of _your_ creation for your _own_ mistakes…Disgusting. While that Wavemaster was there, someone elsewhere was recording what the Wavemaster saw and collecting data each minute he was there in Mac Anu. You ignorant fools; all of you! Fix her. I want that meddler _destroyed_! I want them all destroyed! If they get their hands on all of that information, they will use it against us and in Aura's favor."_

"That's right," Demosthenes realized. "Locke, get to work on Miluda, and then send her to Net Slum. We've got to get rid of Helba, and quick. She could ruin all of our great plans."

_"Use the prisoners,"_ chimed Morganna, speaking in a sneaky seductive tone. _"Their friends would give anything to see them again, no doubt. Use the prisoners to get to them, as I did long ago."_

"And it never worked for you, Morganna. Everything you attempted utterly failed in the end," Locke was now typing on a transparent keyboard hovering over Miluda. "But, if you insist, we'll see what we can do."

_"That Lawk character…he is the closest to Navel, isn't he?"_ Morganna had her hands together, grinding together evilly. _"He is the key that will lead to that group's complete demise."_

"Yes, Lawk…"

"Navel's best friend…"

"Interesting…"

The tower echoed with Morganna's evil cackle. Locke and Demosthenes grinned.

**Net Slum**

"I have deciphered the strands of data that encircled you during battle, Navel," said Helba, standing before us all. She hovered forward, handing to me a Virus Core. "You will know what to do with this when the time comes. What happened to you was something that has never happened before. The enemy has designed a tool that, when someone bearing it initiates combat, their opponent is blinded by a flash of light that would kill an epileptic. The effects would just make a person without this condition fall unconscious. And then, when you fell unconscious, it somehow anchored your mind right there, in that server, in The World."

"But how is this possible?" asked Bear, his arm over BT's shoulder. "I thought that the entity had to use that strange power, the Data Drain?"

"That is the old way," she stated matter-of-factly. "Now is the Age of the Twilight Twins, and they are far more experienced than The World. My resources have been investigating, and I have come to the realization that the enemy is planning on perfecting the object they used on Navel several days ago."

Mimiru's eyes widened, and she began shouting curses at no one in particular. "What, are they planning on putting _everyone_ into a damn coma!? That is _definitely_ not how the game is played!"

Helba smiled. "That is exactly what they are trying to do. My belief is that, when this mysterious power is completed, they will infect each monster with the ability. And then you know what will happen. Some foolish administrator shall set up another of those monster events in a root town, and all hell will break loose."

"Oh my god…" I looked around, staring at my friends who were all very scared.

"We must warn CC corp. of this then!" shouted Gardenia.

"Like they'll help _hackers_," said Nami, brushing off Gardenia's words like they were a disease. "CC corp. cares only about money. They do not give a damn what happens to their players or—"

"On the contrary," said Helba, smirking. "Lios of the System Administration has agreed to work with us on this matter for however long it may take. I have contacted two others that may be able to help us as well," she looked around, and then turned back. "But they will not be here for a while. Navel, it is time to come up with a plan of your own. Where and when shall we strike?"

Everyone turned to me, and I did not know what to say. "Well…first, I want to make sure that Lawk and the others are safe and all right. Then, I'm thinking, when we have confirmed that, we attack their base."

"And what if they use that power on you again?"

"I'll come up with something," I said, and gated out.

**Θ Server Root Town, Dun Loireag**

I headed over to the various shops, selling all of the useless weapons, items and armor that I had neglected to sell before. When that was finished I walked by the Lookout, where some of the juiciest gossip on this server could be found. I sat down and listened for a while, hearing nothing of interest. I was accosted by three separate incomplete parties, each looking for a Wavemaster or Pole Arm to assist them on a Dungeon Quest. I turned them all down, telling them that I was waiting for someone.

"Your loss, then," said one person, turning and shouting over to another Wavemaster, leaving me alone to my thoughts once more. I decided to log out and check out the BBS and maybe my email. The BBS was filled with posts pertaining to the Lambda and Delta servers, and wondering why the systems crashed. Some topics spoke of the people in comas, and more than any wanted to know how to defeat the dragon.

_Idiots,_ I thought. But I had once been a normal player, just like them, before this all began, so I couldn't be too judgmental. I opened up my mailbox and deleted all of the System Administrative emails, and opened a message by someone named Albireo.

_Albireo!?_ I had met this character way back when the beta version of The World was in progress. Before he went solo I tagged along in his party on more than one occasion. He became a good friend, but disappeared after some incident in The World years later. I had always wondered what happened to him. I opened my email to see what he wanted:

_**Subject: None **_

_**Navel,**_

_**I have been summoned back to The World by the hacker called Helba. She says that help is needed and that W.B. Yates and I are required. I would like to speak to you before I decide anything. What is going on in The World that the "dot hackers" can not fix **_**this**_** time? I will do whatever I can to help, but I am not planning on coming back to the game. Talk to Yates though, better known as Hokuto these days, and see what she says. I will contact you again, Navel. We shall speak at that time. Do not reply to this message.**_

_**May the Grace of the Twilight Dragon guide and protect you…**_

_**-Albireo**_

_Hokuto?_ I recognized the name W.B. Yates. I had known him to be a notorious web poet that began playing back in Fragment. I met his character, a woman named Haruka Mizuhara, on the day we were brought to CC corp. to be beta testers. She was very smart, interesting, and good at what she did—in The World—not her real job. She had written some very astounding poems about the goings-on of daily life in The World and I enjoyed her company. But for some unknown reason she had mysteriously disappeared from The World too, like Albireo. I decided to write Hokuto, her new avatar, apparently, and then logged out for the day.

**CC corp. Online Offices, Central Server**

"And we are sure that Beatrix is actually a victim in all of this?" asked Lady Rain, an incredulous look about her face. "That is very difficult to believe, seeing as she refused to tell us what was going on and allowed those Guardians destroy the place. So forgive me if I do not want to risk the safety of the Emerald Knights to rescue her. She is a menace!"

At the center of the circular table a graceful, doll-like girl hovered above everyone, staring Lady Rain down. "Lady Rain, I am quite positive that Lady Beatrix is, in fact, a victim of the recent events taking place in The World. When I was attacked by the Twilight Twins, they took something very to The World's safety. They have the Morganna Program. And you said that you discovered the location of their bodies, but they were already deceased. That means that Locke and Demosthenes have entered the net and plan on using Morganna as a power source. When they have finished, they will most likely take her fragments into themselves and The World will enter a Dark Age."

Daybreak sat with his arms folded, whistling quietly. When he heard this, he shot forward, an angry look about his face. "Then why did you give them the opportunity, Aura!? Beatrix led you right into their hideout and they were able to gain that piece of their evil puzzle…Victim or no, Beatrix is responsible for whatever future is in store for The World. If and when she recovers from her coma, she will be charged."

"Now, now," said Dark Angel, drawing out his blade and poising it in Daybreak's direction. "They forced her into it, and you know it. She was vulnerable to charm!"

Persephone shot up, slamming her weapon on the ground. "Enough! We mustn't fight! This is not going to restore The World to its former state, is it…"

Aura turned to her and nodded, and then back to the others. "I have been in contact with the hacker Helba," there was a loud wave of angry voices, but she spoke over them. "She has rallied a small battalion of players to rally against the Twilight Twins. Their leader is a Wavemaster named Navel. He will be the key to The World's salvation, if we can help push him along. Morganna will stop at nothing to destroy me to gain omnipotence and control over this world once more, and Navel wishes to stop that."

"We will not side with _hackers_," snorted Lady Rain, raising her nose arrogantly. "I'm not an idiot,"

"Just a pig-head," said a familiar voice.

"And it's not me this time!" cried another.

Helba and Lios gated in on two separate corners of the room, and advanced upon the circle of people, bowing before Aura. "Whether you like it or not, Lady Rain, the new division of the dot hackers are desperately needed. You and the other Knights are not enough to save The World from this new threat. You five—especially you, Daybreak—have never faced Morganna head-on. Lios here will tell you, she is one entity that needs to be dealt with similar to fighting fire with fire. She uses illegal programs while contradicting herself, and the hackers create their own illegal programs, contradicting her. The system administration is not enough."

"Helba is right," said Lios gruffly. "I hate to admit it, but she's right. Even Aura knows this. The Twilight Twins and Morganna need to be stopped once and for all. If we do not work together, then we will ultimately fail."

"Yes, thank you both," said Aura, nodding and smiling. "I have also added a special faction to this battle. I have summoned back the Cobalt Knights, to do their honorable work once more. Helba has contacted their former master, Lord Albireo, who shall work in concert with Lady Kamui to begin cleaning up while the fight is ours. This is the biggest crisis The World has faced since the threat of the Abominable Wave, and we will take all the help we can find."

"Very well," said Lady Rain bitterly, leaving the meeting room in a huff. The others left as well, leaving only Helba, Lios and Aura together.

"The Cobalt Knights are doing their work in Mac Anu at the moment. Do you think you could keep an eye on them for us, Helba?"

"I will, and I shall also continue gathering my army."

"I shall speak to some of our older contacts. Perhaps they will assist us; they _do_ owe me a favor or two."

"Very good, Lios. Take care, Aura."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI: Meddling**

**Σ Server Root Town, Fort Ouph**

"Thank you so much!" said the short Blademaster, walking away with their new pair of Boots of Speed. I smiled and waved, and then proceeded quickly away in the opposite direction. I found a quaint little shop run by another player that had just opened recently. Apparently she sold items from various quests. I approached the little stand and accosted her.

"Well HELLO THERE!" cried the woman desperately, leaning over her counter. "I have various wares I am longing to part with. Would you like to see some of what I have?" I nodded and she initiated the trade menu. I saw various objects appear on her side of the window. Nothing really stood out, nothing good anyway, so I closed out the window.

"Do you have anything, you know, better?" I asked cautiously, afraid that she may have a frantic outburst. When she gave me the look that made me think she saw a ghost I backed up. "Eh…it's all right, I'll buy…that Golden Grunty, I guess…"

"REALLY!?" She opened up the trade menu screen once more and deposited a Golden Grunty. I entered in three thousand GP and accepted. She began crying happily, thanking me for my service and I walked away, disturbed.

I walked to the center of the sky city, surveying my surroundings. Fort Ouph was nestled neatly on top of a cloud, high above hidden ground. Thinking back to the previous encounter with Helba and the others, I wondered if I _were_ cut out to be The World's savior. _I can't save The World. I only want to help Lawk, and I'm not even sure how I'll do that…Why do they expect me to save this place? Just because I'm devoted?_

Back at the Chaos Gate a player had gated in and saw me. They ran over quickly, panting and staggering. When she raised her eyes to meet mine, I saw the crooked smile. "N…Navel," said the woman, breathing heavily. "I've been looking around, on every server; well, not every server, because Delta and Lambda are, well, you know, and whatnot. But hey!" As she was carried away I took this chance to walk away. "Hey! Navel, wait up!"

Turning, I saw the scantily-clad witch grabbing on to my sleeve. "Hokuto?" I said, stopping. She nodded and I continued. "Stop talking so fast. I am glad you came. How come you did not come back as Yates?" I was accustomed to Yates, probably because I only knew Haruka as that player.

"Oh, I haven't used W.B. Yates for the longest time. Can we go sit somewhere, please? I'm tired." She sure played her character well. I grabbed her by the arm and we headed down to the Open-Valley Tavern. I sat and purchased two drinks for our avatars. "So what's up, Navel? How have you been? It's been five years!"

"Yeah. I've missed the daily poems. People sure did get angry when they saw their names on the BBS in one of your bash-poems." I grinned, pulling off my hat and setting it aside. "So, yeah…Helba called you on for some reason, right?"

"Oh, if I did not come, Al wouldn't have either."

"Al?" _Oh._ "Albireo, of course. I never remembered you having a relationship with him before?"

"We met five or six years ago, when he was working on a case with the Cobalt Knights. I sort of got dragged into it while playing dumb-dumb. I wanted to study a weapon he had, and he really sparked my interest. Inseparable for six years!"

"Fascinating," I ordered another drink and remembered that I neglected my first glass. "So, Hokuto," I said, enunciating each syllable carefully. "Strange name…actually, strange everything. What have you done to yourself?"

"Oh, this? This is one of many of my newbie disguises. I prefer this one over the rest, so…"

"I get it. Why won't Albireo come if you're not here?"

"He hates The World."

"Impossible."

"I know, he loved it back then, but…it happened, right after something terrible happened here. He hasn't been the same since Lyco perished."

"Lyco?"

"Never mind." She stood up, giving me that terrifyingly-excited witch smirk. "Anyway! Helba asked us to come and assist her army. When I saw who she elected to be their new leader, I just had to say yes! I haven't seen you in so long. Where's Lawk?"

I frowned, looking away. She knew instantly what that meant. "Now I see…Well, don't you worry yourself one bit. You've still got me, Al, Gardenia and whoever else has joined the party."

"Sure. Where is Albireo, anyway?"

"He will be online shortly. Don't you have a meeting with him?" I nodded. "Good, we'll meet him when he arrives."

"K…"

"But for now, let's go to a field and kick some monster can!"

"Can? Oh, boy. Fine, let's go. I would replenish your healing and resurrecting potions to the maximum before we go…"

"I always do that when logging on. I did not need to this time because I haven't been on in three years. I'm all prepared!"

"O…kay."

"Come on, Navel!" She ran from the bar and I followed in her wake. When we reached the Chaos Gate she stopped to stare at a young blue Wavemaster sitting in front of it. "Eh…Are you okay?" She bent down and peeked under the boy's hat to see his face. "Something wrong?"

The boy lifted his head slowly, shaking. "I…I can't." Hokuto tilted her head, confused. "I can not find Mia."

"Mia? Who's that? My dog's name is Mia, you know. She's a bloodhound and is just so—"

I stepped up and put my hand on her shoulder. "Not the best time for this," I said, crouching at her side. "Who is Mia?" I repeated, staring into the boy's crimson eyes.

"She is my best friend. I have to find Mia! She's gone…I haven't seen her since, well, since Mac Anu…"

"Mac Anu? When it fell? You were there?" he nodded and I could hear sniffling through his speakers. "Well, maybe she just hasn't logged on for a while. I'm sure that she'll—"

"She is not..." he stammered and used his staff to help him up. "She is not a normal player. She's an…she's not real—but don't think that means she is not my friend—but I know she should be here still!"

"AI?" whispered Hokuto, staring blankly at the boy. "Um…well, why don't we go find her!"

"Excellent suggestion," I said smiling, hoping to give him at least a sign of optimism. "What's your name?"

"E…Elk."

"Well, Elk! What say you, me and Hokuto here go find your friend Mia? I'm searching for a friend myself, so I know how you feel."

Elk wiped away a tear and faltered a bit. "You…you do? You'll help me?"

"Yes, yes!" cried Hokuto, raising up her wand. "To the end of The World shall the three travel, all in the hopes of recovering that which was lost! To the Chaos Gate!"

"We're _at_ the Chaos Gate," I reminded. She giggled and told me that she knew that; I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Inviting Elk into our party he smiled, and we gated over to the Theta Server to speak with the Ruby Knights. Their leader was quartering the Emerald Knights while the Delta server was down, and they would be the best people to go to about matters concerning Mac Anu.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"Where is Morganna?" asked Demosthenes, holding a glass of amber liquid in her hand. "I haven't seen her in a while."

Locke stood in front of a large blank screen, typing on an invisible keyboard. "Hm? Oh, I don't know. Have you checked the top of the tower?" He did not turn; he was deep into his work.

"I did, and all I found was her halberd. I haven't the faintest clue as to where she is. And, stranger, the area specs say that she is not even in this field."

Shocked, he turned toward her now, his eyes wide. "How is that possible? You put that bind on her…" Demosthenes glared, clenching her fists.

"Yes, but I suspect now that this was not enough. She is loose in The World and will probably be difficult to find. Though she is not complete yet, she will still be able to wreak more havoc. Find her and…wait, what are you working on?"

"This is a new invention that I am particularly proud of," when she gave him a skeptical look, he continued. "It is, let's say, _my_ equivalent to a crystal ball."

"Very impressive," she hissed, stepping forward, pushing him out of the way. "And does it work?"

"Just about. I have to finish programming it. Soon we shall be allowed to see what was once not allowed. A window to our enemies shall open and every step that they take will lead us to take one step more."

"Very good…very good indeed. I am proud of you, Locke. Today I shall not punish you, for your insolence has escaped my vision." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. When they separated, she disappeared in an explosive red flash. But before she had completely faded, her last echoing warning reached his ears. "Find Morganna and bring her to me, or you will be sorry."

**Δ Server Root Town, Mac Anu**

Cobalt Knights and Cerulean alike were everywhere, killing monsters here and deleting bugs there. Two Pole Arms stood on the bridge overlooking the entire town, their arms folded. They were deep in conversation. The one with eyes like the stars, Albireo, looked frustrated with the short-haired woman before him, and he told her just that.

"It would be _wise_ to listen to Aura, Kamui. Aura _is_ the Ultimate AI, as we all know, and Harald designed her for the purpose of being this world's hope. You should worry more about protecting her world from these outsiders than wanting her demise. You know more than anyone that I used to be just like this, until I gained some senses!"

The woman frowned, staring at him intently, listening hard. "Mister Wata—Lord Albireo, I understand what you are trying to tell me, but don't you think that possibly Aura is to blame for everything that is going on in The World? I mean, the Twilight Twins _did_ use that evil power on her; you never know _what_ damage they caused to her system."

Albireo leaned out over the bridge, ordering a squadron of troops down an alleyway. "The Twilight Twins only needed the Morganna Program that was embedded into the Ultimate AI. What they wanted to bring _her_ back for I'll never know, but that is our main concern…not Aura's."

"For our sake I should hope that you are right. Magi!" A young blue-haired Wavemaster carrying a book nearly half her size came tiptoeing up to Kamui's side, bowing. "Area specs, please."

"Yes, Lady Kamui. The Cobalt Knights and the Cerulean Knights are the only ones occupying this field…wait a moment." Albireo and Kamui stared at the young lady, eyes wide. "There is another presence here now, and it is coming from the palace."

"The palace?" said Albireo, turning his attention down to the town square, where the Emerald Knight headquarters stood before the event platform. "Any idea who the player is?"

"It is not a player," said Magi, looking to Kamui for orders.

"Captain, let us go and check on this ourselves."

Albireo nodded, and the two set off for the Emerald Palace. When they arrived they saw a lone figure sitting on the Lady Rain's throne, her legs resting lazily over the left arm. She had long, light green hair and an immaculate yellow and purple dress. The right side of her face was normal and beautiful, but the other half--which was partially blocked by her hair—looked corrupted, almost broken.

Upon our presence she stood up, smiling. _"Hello and welcome, Albireo…Kamui."_ She took a step off the dais and approached them slowly. Her golden eyes were slightly closed, as if she had just woken up.

"Who are you?" said Albireo, his halberd raised. "And what are you doing here on the Delta server?"

"This area is not safe; you must leave this instant!"

The lady smiled, turned to Albireo, and addressed him first. _"It is a pleasure to meet you, Albireo. I am God."_ Albireo's eyes widened in shock, and he took a small step backward, his spear faltering. Kamui just furrowed her brow. _"Yes. It has been many years since you and I interacted, hm? I remember when we met for the last time. You tried interfering with Tsukasa. Well,"_ she bowed, grinning evilly. _"Now I have a human form and would like to thank you personally, for ridding me of that pesky little failure you called Lycoris. You should have just stopped there."_

"You…You are Morganna," he said, faltering. Kamui just stared. "You're the one who had me destroy Lycoris…"

_"Who else was qualified and willing to protect The World? Now you have returned, to foil my plans once more. I shall not allow it. The Twilight Twins are my key to finally destroying Aura. I shall not allow your interference."_ She raised her arms, and six dumbbell-shaped beings appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them. _"I am terribly sorry, but I must destroy you now."_

"Morganna…"

"What is going _on!?_"

"You will pay for this!"

**Θ: Bursting, Forlorn, Wavemaster**

"Mia!" cried Elk, his hands cupping his mouth to make his voice louder. Hokuto and I stood behind him, both of us very tired.

"Elk," Hokuto placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We have searched all of yours and Mia's favorite fields…I do not think she's here…"

"No! Mia _has_ to be here! She just _has_ to! Mia!" Elk ran off, deeper down into the dungeon. We quickly followed him, and I knew that this was hopeless. "Mia!?"

When we reached the Gott Statue room we were surprised by what we saw. A tall, slender anthropomorphic feline lay lifeless on the ground, unconscious. Elk ran to her side and began shaking the AI's body. "Oh my…" I said, sidling up beside them. Hokuto followed suit.

"Mm…Elk…" breathed the cat, struggling to rise. "What are you…what're you doing here?"

"Finding you, of course!" he cried, smiling and embracing her tightly. "I've been looking for you, Mia!"

"I'm…Sorry, Elk. I would have come back to you, but…they were too powerful. I had to hide somewhere…they damaged me pretty good."

"Well, at least you're safe," said Hokuto, smiling, helping Mia to her feet. "Welcome back!"

When Mia regained her composure she grabbed Elk and gave him a loving hug. "Thank you for coming back to me, Elk." When she noticed that Hokuto and I were still here, she addressed me first. "Hello, Navel."

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of how she knew my name. "I'm sorry, Mia…have we met?"

"Um, no…I do not believe so. I…" she scratched her head, her ears twitching. "Lawk."

When I heard his name my heart went reeling. "You know Lawk!?" I cried, stepping forward. "Do you know where he is?"

Mia continued scratching her head, confused. "Something about Lawk…" she stopped and sat down a moment. Elk took his place beside her. "Captured…Morganna…Lawk…It is all I can remember. When I died my consciousness slipped into the very threads of the net, and that is where I heard those words. And for some reason you reminded me just now."

"So Lawk is still in the system!"

Mia just shrugged and we helped her to her feet once more. Elk left our party and formed one with the cat instantly. Mia gave me her member address and said that, if she learned anything new, she would email me. The two of them disappeared soon after. Hokuto wrapped her arms around my neck, attempting to comfort me.

"Well, at least we know that Lawk is still here, right?"

"Yes, you're right. There is still hope."

"Right!" she let go and raised her wand. "Well, then! Shall we proceed to see Albireo? The sooner we do that, the faster we will find Lawk!"

"Yeah,"

"Sprite Ocarina!"

**Σ: Great, Distant, Twilight**

When the rings faded the field before us was revealed. We were in a large forest with minimal lighting. Proceeding forward Hokuto and I made our way to the dungeon. Upon entry we were met with not Albireo but another player. When our eyes adjusted to the dark, Hokuto gasped. I just stared, awestruck.

"Lawk!"

"Navel? Is that you?"

I raised my staff which was illuminated to see him better. When I could see clearly, I nearly burst into tears. "Lawk! It _is_ you!" I grabbed him and he held on as well, and we shared a long hug. "Oh, Lawk…I missed you…"

"Hi, Lawk," said Hokuto, holding out her arms towards him. He obliged her as well and smiled. "It's been a long time, kid."

"Hi…Um, Navel…I think something's wrong with me. I can't…I can't log out."

I frowned. "I know…I have visited you in the hospital a lot lately…You are in a coma, Lawk. You…"

"You _what_?" he sounded upset and stamped his foot. "That is no fair, Navel! You cheated! You said that, one day, the two of us would meet offline and see each other. You saw me first and—"

"I'll make it up to you, Lawk. I promise."

"You will?" he smiled faintly, and sat down on a broken column piece.

I nodded and sat beside him. "And I have made up my mind. At the end of the summer, Lawk, I am moving into my own apartment…and I would like to bring you with me."

"You would? W…why? Why would you want me there?"

"You _know_ why, Lawk." I smiled and put an arm over his shoulder. He leaned into me and rested his head on mine. "I spoke to your aunt, as well. And in later visits I spoke to your mother. And I have two reasons for wishing to take you away."

"You spoke to my _mother_!? Why!? What would you do that for!?"

"Lawk, come on! I had to…you were never going to tell me on your own! I will not allow you go back to that awful home life you once knew. I can't because…because I love you and care too much about you to let you keep hurting yourself there!"

When he heard those three words he ignored everything else. He stared directly into my eyes, his whole body shaking. "You do? You _love_ me?" I nodded, now shaking myself. "I don't…know what to say, Navel…"

Hokuto chimed in and waved her hands dramatically. "You could say you loved _him_ too, Lawky." He smiled when he heard his old nickname and turned back to me, placing his hand on my cheek.

"She's right, you know. I do love you, Navel. I have always loved you…"

I stood up and grabbed him by the hands, pulling him up to stand in front of me. I held on for a while. "Good. Now that that is settled, will you forgive me for prying?" he nodded, wiping a stray tear from his cheek. "Now, have you seen Albireo?"

"Hm? No, not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Well," interrupted Hokuto, her hand covering her mouth. "This is where we were supposed to meet him, actually…It is just luck that you came here as well."

"What _are_ you doing here, anyway?" I pondered aloud.

"I'm not exactly sure…" he said, staring blankly at the wall. "I was in a cell, then I fell unconscious, then I woke up, this lady stood over me, then I went unconscious again…and now I'm here."

"I see…What did they do to you, Lawk?"

He began crying, diving into my chest for comfort. "It was terrible. They have been using us for experiments…and they always kill us afterwards…but we're always brought back…It hurts, Navel. I don't want to go back there…"

"I won't allow that, Lawk. Let's go back to root town. I want to contact Helba about this…"

**Ruby Palace, Θ Server**

Dark Angel stood on the dais quietly speaking with Daybreak and Lady Rain. Two knights from each squad stood at attention nearby, to ensure their captains' protection. Lately the message boards had stated that there were a string of brief sightings of players who had recently fallen comatose. Daybreak was cynical. All he cared about was finding Beatrix and wringing her neck. Dark Angel did not approve.

"DA, I have allowed you to stay here with your knights for as long as you need, but I am still quite unsure whether I should trust you or not. I mean, your former captain _was_ Beatrix, the one who caused all of this to happen."

Dark Angel inched forward, hoping to intimidate his host. It worked. "Do not dare speak of the Lady with such disrespect! Even the Ultimate AI agrees that Lady Beatrix was simply a pawn used for the enemy's sick game!"

Lady Rain sat down on Daybreak's throne, setting aside her weapon. "Yes, but I am beginning to agree with Daybreak. Hackers have begun involving themselves with matters concerning The World…who's to say that they have not warped our Aura? She could very well be a pawn herself, working in the service of the Twilight Twins."

"No! I believe in the Ultimate AI one hundred percent! And those hackers saved this world many times before! You can not deny that, Rain! You were here during each crisis! We both were! If anyone should be skeptical, it's Daybreak! He is the only one in our whole lot who came in just recently." Daybreak glared the two senior members down, folding his arms indignantly.

"I may be new but I'm not stupid. I watch the news, you know. I say that we stage a coup. That way, Lady Rain, you, the knights and I can work to solve this problem before CC corp. ruins this place for good. It is for the good of The World." She nodded and Dark Angel became infuriated.

"You would turn your backs on the system!?"

"Why, DA, calm down…" The three knights turned at this new voice, their eyes wide. Beatrix entered the room and stepped up onto the platform. "Let them do as they will. I, for one, will report all of my findings to CC corp. immediately. That way, we shall have the higher advantage."

"Lady Beatrix!" cried Rain, grabbing her halberd. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Lady Beatrix!"

Daybreak readied his sword as well, glaring the woman down. "I thought you'd show your face here sooner or later."

"I am not sure what has happened, but the Twilight Twins and the entity have released their prisoners…For some reason none of us are able to log out, but I intend to figure out why…DA, DB…Lady Rain. I need your assistance. I know that I was not the most trustworthy of us near the end, but I apologize. You know nothing of the loneliness I felt. I was easily manipulated…and for that I relent. When this is over and I can finally leave this awful place…I will hand in my letter of resignation at once and face whatever consequences come my way."

Rain smirked, approaching Beatrix. "And who says we're going to help a traitor?" Dark Angel separated the two with his blood-red sword, growling.

"Step away, Lady Rain. Stand down. Both of you! She told us all that she was sorry, now hear her out!"

The two backed up, frowning. They held their weapons still, but lowered them away from the Amber Knight. "I can never make up for what I have done…but I can give you the location. Their base of operations."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII: Ruse**

**Net Slum**

Helba circled around us a couple of times before finally speaking. When she did I could tell that she was troubled by this new wave of events.

"Lawk is here with you, and Beatrix was sighted in Dun Loireag. Others have been popping up around in other locations within The World, and I can not seem to pinpoint the reason for this."

"What does it matter?" I said defiantly. "Lawk is back with us now, so that is all I care about."

"Ah, but for how long? Lawk and the other victims are still lying unconscious in comas out in the real world, yet they wander about here as if nothing is wrong. There is a purpose for letting them off their chains. Lawk, what can you tell me about your imprisonment?"

I sat there and listened to his very long, sad and tremendously painful story once more, wincing at the thought that I let him be taken instead of myself. When he finished Helba simply sighed. "I see. Well, then. That is a breakthrough entirely. Navel, you are the target, as I suspected. Lawk has been released to lure you into their grasp. It is because of the amulet you found."

"The one I gave Lawk? The one that had that virus in it?"

"The very same. It appears that, along with the virus, something else was added to it…by the Time Wizard and his companions. There is something special in there that was meant solely for your use, Navel, and though I do not yet know its purpose, I shall soon enough. The Twilight Twins have been monitoring you ever since the day of Lawk's incarceration, and I am sure that they saw the item for what it really was. You are their most dangerous adversary, and they will stop at nothing to destroy you. And with Morganna at their feet, acting as a lapdog, I'm afraid this mission shall be quite difficult."

"I thought you said that Morganna had to be 'complete' before they could use her powers fully?"

"Time Wizard?" asked Mimiru, confused.

BT kicked her, frustrated. "Harald Hoerwick…"

"—Very true, but even without it she is a powerful entity. Navel, I should advise you to allow yourself to be captured, as it will bring us insight into their true motives."

"I am only here to protect Lawk…"

"And you shall. He is still trapped here in The World, right? Let them whisk you off to their headquarters and then take them down once and for all. When you discover the location, send its coordinates to your comrades and they shall join in the fray. You have many friends, Navel, all willing to help save The World. Use that to your advantage."

"Right…Lawk, I want you to stay here, in Net Slum. Helba will take care of you and make sure nothing happ—"

"No! I will not stick around and wait for this to end. You and I have been a team since our first day here…and I am not about to let that die away. Don't you remember? You said you would protect me; you have! Now it's time that I protect you."

I smiled and gave him a deep, loving hug. "Thank you, Lawk."

"I shall stay here and provide safe haven should you need it," said Helba, gating us out of her realm.

**Ω: Putrid, Geothermal, March**

"Lawk has proved to be much better at this than I expected," said Demosthenes, staring up at the large screen. Locke stood at her side, exceedingly proud of himself. "And did you find Morganna yet, Locke?" he shook his head, to which she smacked and walked off, pinching the bridge of her nose and growling. "I thought I told you to bring her here and not to fail me!"

"Demosthenes, shut up. Just for this once! Really, now! I have told you plenty of times before that our attempts at controlling The World would be blocked by certain bumps in the road. The system was not finished when Harald died, and so his work was unfinished. We were bound to run into these problems, Morganna being the root of them! Do not blame me for something you already knew!"

Demosthenes said nothing, shocked that anyone would dare speak in such a tone. She ignored this and just smiled, advancing upon her companion. "Locke…We have a guest arriving shortly. Do make yourself presentable by the time Lawk brings him here." A knife appeared in her hand and she drove it between his ribs. As he bled and crumpled over on the ground, she merely turned away, smiling. "I will not stand for insolence, Locke. Perhaps when this is over you and I shall make a final stand, just to see who is _truly_ meant to rule The World. Until then, you will be my obedient little pup."

Macha appeared out of nowhere as the woman left, and it hovered over Locke's body, snickering silently. He reached a hand out and the cat accepted it. A light shot forth from its palm and entered the man's body, illuminating him a bright, green light. "Thank you…Macha…I knew you'd come through with the mission…"

**Θ Server Root Town, Dun Loireag**

The frontier town was covered in contamination brought about by Morganna. When I stepped off the Chaos Platform I noticed that the Gate faded in and out, emanating a scratchy, high-pitched sound. I winced.

With Lawk at my side he led me down to the Grunty Ranch to check in on Spaulding. While we were there I decided to feed Mr. Moo Moo and just sit and talk for a bit. Lawk was not in a really good mood like the old days, but I could see why. _God only knows what those Twins did to him!_ I thought angrily. Locke and Demosthenes were sociopaths bent on controlling The World and the rest of the net, for some deranged reason, most likely. I did not like it one bit. _What would be the point to rule over a virtual realm, subjugating people who would come in and out at random times? Or perhaps that AI, Miluda…she did put me into a temporary coma. Could they be trying...?_ No, I wouldn't think of such silly things, not now. Lawk was here, right now, and I cared about nothing else.

"So…I was thinking," started Lawk, but stopped abruptly and patted Spaulding's head. I leaned over, staring blankly into his eyes. He smiled and continued quickly. "Navel, I think I like it here in The World."

"We _all_ do. We've had this discussion, haven't we?"

"I mean…in this state. I can feel, I can breathe…I _am_ Lawk the Protector right now. Is it so bad that I'm like this right now?"

"Don't even joke about such things, Lawk! Why would you ever want to stay _here_ permanently…when on the outside you're knocking on dea—never mind…"

"I just like it…I know it's not always good…what with what's been happening…but would it be so bad, really, if I did not want to log out after this?"

"You _know_ it would…Think of everything you'd miss out on."

"But also see it from _my_ perspective…think of everything I'd miss out on." I knew what he was trying to say, and though I did not like what I was hearing, he had a point.

"This may sound selfish, but I don't think I could live without you on the outside…and I have no intention of joining the coma victims any time soon. I've already passed through that phase…"

Lawk did not say any more for the rest of our stay here. He merely sat and played with his Grunty while I attended to mine, and it felt like whenever I turned around he would be glaring daggers at my back for not agreeing with him. I sent a PM to Gardenia, telling her of this new wave of worry I felt, and hoped that she would respond soon with some guidance. I did not stop with her though, either. I sent similar messages to both BT and Bear, seeing as they had more experience on this subject than any of us.

After a while Lawk decided that he wanted to go somewhere else and I obliged. After arguing about keywords we agreed to head over to the Hülle Granz Cathedral, somewhere on Delta…if we could. I selected the words: Hidden, Forbidden, and Holy Ground, highlighting the Delta Server icon. When I tapped the gate command we were deafened by a loud, warning buzz.

**[RESTRICTED AREA!!!]**

Simultaneously we fell back; I dropped my controller because of a slight shock. When I was allowed to retrieve it, the Chaos Gate—no, the entire server—had disappeared. Lawk and I were no longer on the Theta Server. We were transported to a strange room that had no discernable boundaries or color. Everything was iridescent and flashy. A long, hexagonal prism stood before us, carrying inside of it five golden bricks, all patterned with certain letters. They looked like the Virus Core that Helba had given me a while back. I pulled out from my inventory the item and slipped it into an empty space on the prism and the loud buzz rang out once more.

When the light dissipated I could see the lonely cathedral standing out in the center of a lake, quietly reveling in the twilit sky. I stepped forward, taking Lawk's hand in mine, and we headed on into the church.

**Ω Server Root Town, Lia Fail**

"Well I am not buying it," said BT, sitting with her back against a tree in the central courtyard, staring past Bear to the Chaos Gate. "With the threat of Morganna once more and this new wave of terror brought on by the Twilight Twins, I doubt if even _we_ can stop The World from crumbling this time. There's no telling what will happen should Morganna regain her powers…and we do not know the full story behind Locke and Demosthenes."

Bear, Mimiru and Gardenia listened intently, sitting around a small fire, pondering BT's words. "No, you're right…we don't know what will happen. The entity is probably _very_ angry with what happened the last time, and she will be much angrier and even more dangerous. _However_, I _do_ think that if Helba says that Navel's got what it takes to defeat them, I'd say that it is our duty to guide him to and past each checkpoint until this is finally over."

"Bear, you can't just let Navel go at this alone while we sit and just _"guide" _him!" Mimiru was becoming very frustrated at this, having been through similar situations in the past. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to see that he has all the allies he can get!"

Gardenia rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving Mimiru a consoling smile. "And so shall I. Navel and Lawk are two of my best friends and I shall not allow them to suffer any more than they already have. Too much has been done to them recently that I believe any more damage will cause the two of them to break…and we cannot let that happen."

BT sighed, folding her arms and shook her head. "I shall help with what I can, but I'm usually only good for obtaining information as well as giving it. I'm not much of a fighter…"

"And that is why you have Mimiru and Bear" said Gardenia, waving her arm in their direction. She then stood up, collected her halberd and raised it high in the air; Mimiru followed suit as well as Bear. "May the grace of the Twilight Dragon guide and protect you all!" The three of them tapped their weapons together in unison and all headed for the Chaos Gate.

"Well, I suppose I should go and seek out an old colleague…" BT left shortly after, groaning in annoyance. She felt extremely unlucky about her situation, and hesitated to gate over to the desired field. "Here goes nothing…I'm coming, Sora…"

**Δ: Hidden, Forbidden, Holy Ground**

Tick…tock…

I stood up from praying to the statue of the beautiful, lonely girl and turned to see Lawk doing the same. I nodded and we went to sit down on one of the benches. My eyes gazed down the service hall and noticed that the marble flooring reflected everything above it perfectly. I could see the four pendulums swinging back and forth, ticking off the time as we sat quietly enjoying each other's company.

"Navel, why does the lonely girl smile?"

"Hm…well, if you remember Gardenia's words, she never smiled before. Back when the eight phases of the entity were causing chaos, the statue was bound in chains. But, ever since that Twinblade and his friends saved The World, this place has been brighter and the girl now smiles."

"…I saw this girl, Navel. I saw Aura."

"What? Where?"

"Back at the place where they held us…Aura appeared twice in the dungeon. She attempted to free us, but the cat…that cat! It attacked her on her second visit…and took something from her. I think she was damaged, Navel…because she disappeared afterward."

"The…_cat_?" _Macha_. I had encountered that creature before, way back when it was following around the Wavemaster Tsukasa. It made a trade with me and caused me to lose a week's worth of game play because of a virus. It wasn't until later on that I discovered from a friend of Gardenia's that this cat was actually one of the eight phases of the Cursed Wave. The Temptress.

"I hope that Aura's okay…"

"I do too, Lawk. She's the god of this world. Without God, balance is impossible to achieve."

A loud rumbling followed the echo of my last thoughts and I had to grab Lawk and pull him away from a falling rafter. I tilted my head to the cross vaulted ceiling and saw a woman in a loose, yellow dress encrusted with a ruby brooch. Her long green hair concealed her left eye and I could see corruption around that area. The right side of her face, however, was pale and ordinary. She growled and I heard thunder rumbling outside. I saw her face twist in a murderous frown as she descended upon the dais, directly before the statue of Aura.

_"I am the god of this world!" _roared the woman. She raised one arm in the lead of her and spread out her fingers. The doors at the front of the church closed hard, slamming against one another. I flinched. _"And you are Navel. Welcome. Lawk, it was very good of you to bring him here with us today. I am proud." _

"You don't get to speak to Lawk!" I yelled, elevating my staff defensively. "Stand back, Lawk. I don't want you to get hurt."

"But I—"

"It is too dangerous!" I moved him back myself with my elbow, and he backed up down the service hall, readying his own staff. I quickly turned back to Morganna. "You are going to pay for what you've done…all of you!"

_"Ha…hahahaha! And _what_, exactly, are _you_ going to do about it, little boy?"_ She sneered at me, hovering forward, her arms at her side beneath a shawl. She reached out and touched my staff, causing it to crumble and vanish. I jumped back in alarm, quickly equipping my halberd. _"It is no use…Once I am complete, my reign shall begin anew, and the Golden Age of The World shall resume. With you and that wretched girl out of the way, I shall soon have my way."_

I thought about what she said for a moment, and then noticed a flaw in her plan. "And what about the Twilight Twins? You _do_ know that they are just using you to conquer the net for themselves, right?"

_"I have already presumed as much, and I am ready for them. When they come to collect my powers, I shall give them the gift of True Death, something that I shall never experience. However, knowing that they have a part of me within them, I shall witness it through their souls. But with you and Aura…that is complicated. You just wait. I shall have you yet…" _When she blinked I saw that the cathedral disappeared. We were, once more, being gated over to another field somewhere. When we arrived, Lawk's face went white with fear and I could tell that this is where he was held.

There was a large, black tower looming over a filthy wasteland, and two silhouetted figures stood high above us on a balcony, staring down at us with keen interest.

_"I have done what you could not, you fools…"_


End file.
